The Court of Appeal in Abuja has unanimously ruled that Hon. Martin Amaewhule is the legitimate Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
This decision upholds the Federal High Court’s earlier judgment of Justice Omotosho that nullified the 2024 Rivers State budget presented by Governor Siminalayi Fubara to only four out of 31 Assembly members led by Rt. Hon. Victor Oko Jumbo.
The other faction allegedly defected to an opposition party and lost their lawmaker status, prompting Gov. Fubara to sidestep them.
Fubara presented the N800 billion budget, titled “Budget of Renewed Hope, Consolidation and Continuity,” to four members to work with Mr. Jumbo-led assembly in December 2023.
According to the court, Governor Fubara’s actions violated Section 91 of the 1999 Constitution, and his withdrawal of a counter-affidavit during the initial trial barred him from appealing the decision.
The court emphasized that Fubara should apply the rule of law, not the rule of might, stating that the situation in Rivers State House of Assembly is an “executive dictatorship by the governor and a joke taken too far.“
The court ordered Governor Fubara to re-present the budget to the legally constituted House of Assembly under Martin Amaewhule and release all funds due to the Rivers House of Assembly. Additionally, Fubara was fined N500,000 for each of the respondents.
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