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Reserves judgment on appeal challenging LG polls
The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State seeking to remove 27 members of the House of Assembly who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The apex court dismissed the appeal on Monday after Governor Fubara applied to withdraw it, citing that the issues at the heart of the case had been overtaken by events.
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A five-member panel led by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, however, ruled that the matter had already been contested, therefore, awarding N2 million in costs against the governor.
Governor Fubara’s counsel, Yusuf Ali (SAN), had earlier requested to withdraw the appeal, arguing that the situation had changed.
However, lawyers representing the Martin Amaewhule-led faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly—Wole Olanipekun (SAN) and Joseph Daudu (SAN)—did not oppose the withdrawal but insisted the case be dismissed rather than struck out, with the N2 million cost awarded.
On October 10, 2024, the Court of Appeal in Abuja dismissed Governor Fubara’s case against the 27 lawmakers, ruling that he had no legal standing to pursue the appeal after voluntarily withdrawing his opposition to the pro-Wike lawmakers at the Federal High Court.
Delivering the majority judgment of the appellate court, Justice Joseph Oyewole held that Fubara, having withdrawn from the original case, could not claim to be aggrieved by the Federal High Court’s ruling.
The appellate court also barred the governor from interfering in the affairs of the House of Assembly, withholding its funds, or removing the clerk and deputy clerk. It further ordered him to re-present the state budget before the assembly under the recognised speaker, as per the ruling of Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court.
Justice Oyewole stated that Fubara’s withdrawal from the initial suit was a legal misstep that could not be corrected.
Reacting to the dismissal of Fubara’s appeal, counsel to Amaewhule, Ken Njemanze (SAN), said the ruling aligned with previous decisions affirming Amaewhule as Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
“The Court of Appeal had already clarified that the three-member House faction is not the legitimate Rivers State House of Assembly,” he stated.
However, Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Joseph Johnson, downplayed the ruling, insisting the withdrawn appeal was irrelevant.
In a statement, he said: “The 2024 budget cycle ended on December 31, 2024. The appeal had no practical value, so it was withdrawn. There is no Supreme Court judgment against Governor Fubara.”
Johnson dismissed celebrations over the ruling as misplaced, calling those rejoicing “street urchins.” He maintained that Victor Oko-Jumbo remains the authentic speaker.
Supreme Court reserves judgment on LG polls appeal
In a separate case, the Supreme Court reserved judgment on four appeals challenging the conduct of the October 5, 2024, local government elections and the decision to stop the Central Bank of Nigeria from releasing allocations to Rivers State.
Justice Abba-Aji’s panel reserved judgment after hearing arguments from both sides.
APC counsel, Joseph Daudu (SAN) urged the court to overturn the Court of Appeal’s decision, which refused to nullify the elections.
However, counsel for Governor Fubara, Chris Uche (SAN), and that of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) asked the court to dismiss the appeal, arguing it lacked merit.
The appellate court had previously overturned a Federal High Court order preventing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from releasing the voter register. It also ruled that the lower court erred in barring security agencies from providing coverage for elections in 27 local government areas.
English (US) ·