By Pauline Podka
THE Supreme Court of Nigeria has dismissed the appeal by Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara challenging the leadership of the State House of Assembly, led by Martin Amaewhule, who is loyal to former Rivers Governor and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
Justice Uwani Abba-Aji delivered the ruling, noting that the appeal was withdrawn by Fubara’s lawyer, Yusuf Ali, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).
The Supreme Court also awarded costs of N2 million against the governor, payable to the Rivers State House of Assembly as the first respondent and Martin Amaewhule as the second respondent.
Court documents obtained by SaharaReporters and signed by the governor’s lawyer, Yusuf Ali, show that the court tendered the notice of withdrawal of the appeal on February 6, 2025.
The document reads: “TAKE NOTICE that the Appellant herein intends and wholly withdraws his Appeal against all the Respondents in this appeal, the appeal has been overtaken by events.”
Recall that on October 10, 2024, the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, admonished Fubara for failing to follow the rule of law in his actions.
Earlier, Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja nullified the N800 billion budget passed by the Edison Ehie-led faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly and signed into law by Governor Fubara.
The court ruled that his decision to present the 2024 Rivers State Appropriation Bill to only four out of 31 members of the Assembly was a gross violation of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
The court stated that presenting the budget to just four members contradicted the Nigerian Constitution.
It added, “The appellant hurriedly submitted the Rivers State Appropriation Bill to four members, who then considered, deliberated on, and passed it into law within a few hours.”
The court further held that Fubara’s actions violated Section 96 of the 1999 Constitution, which requires at least one-third of the Assembly members to form a quorum.
The court noted that “four out of 31 members cannot, by any stretch of the imagination, constitute the required quorum for legislative business.”
The budget presentation was a result of the leadership crisis within the Rivers State House of Assembly.
Fubara had argued that the Amaewhule-led faction lost its legitimacy after defecting from the People’s Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress.
However, the lower court ruled that he failed to provide evidence of their defection and, therefore, could not legally present the budget to a four-member House.
Following the Court of Appeal judgement, Fubara approached the Supreme Court to set aside the lower court’s ruling and allow him to present the budget to the Ehie-led faction.
However, when the case was called on Monday, Fubara’s counsel, Yusuf Ali, informed the Supreme Court that the governor had decided to withdraw the appeal.
Ali stated that a notice dated February 6 had already been filed, explaining that the appeal had been overtaken by events.
All 17 respondents in the case, represented by various lawyers, did not oppose the withdrawal.
However, J.B. Daudu (SAN), representing the 3rd to 12th respondents (National Assembly and its leadership), and Wole Olanipekun (SAN), representing the 1st and 2nd respondents (Rivers State House of Assembly and Amaewhule), requested a cost of N2 million.
Daudu further urged the court to dismiss the appeal rather than strike it out, as issues had already been joined.
The five-member Supreme Court panel dismissed the appeal after confirming that the withdrawal was not opposed.
In a brief ruling, Justice Abba-Aji declared the appeal dismissed and awarded a cost of N2 million in favour of the first to 12th respondents.
On December 13, 2023, in the heat of the protracted political crisis rocking the state and the demolition of the Assembly Complex, Fubara presented the 2024 budget proposal of N800 billion to five members of the State Assembly led by Edison Ehie.
The presentation was done at the Government House in Port Harcourt, following the demolition of the Assembly Complex by the state government and after a court restrained Ehie’s contender, Martins Amaewhule, from using the Assembly Complex.
Ehie and the other pro-Fubara lawmakers passed the budget estimates and the governor signed the bill into law, saying it is aimed at promoting economic development through inclusive growth and addressing socio-economic inequality in the state.
The legal implication of these developments is that Governor Fubara is now bound by the Court of Appeal’s ruling, which recognised Martin Amaewhule as the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly.