Supreme Court dismisses Rivers Governor’s Appeal against Amaewhule-led lawmakers

The Supreme Court of Nigeria has dismissed an appeal filed by Rivers State Governor, Siminalaye Fubara, challenging the Court of Appeal’s judgment that affirmed Hon. Martin Amaewhule as the authentic Speaker of the Rivers State Assembly.

In a ruling delivered on Monday, a five-member panel of the apex court, headed by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, dismissed the appeal after it was withdrawn by Governor Fubara’s lawyers.

The withdrawal was announced by Mr. Yusuf Ali, SAN, who led the governor’s legal team. Ali attributed the decision to the fact that the matter had been overtaken by events.

However, Chief Wole Olanipekun, SAN, who appeared for the Amaewhule-led lawmakers, demanded costs, which was granted by the court. The apex court awarded N4 million costs against Governor Fubara.

The dispute arose from the fractionalization of the Rivers State Assembly due to the frosty relationship between Governor Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike.

In the heat of the crisis, Governor Fubara presented the state’s 2024 budget before a faction of four lawmakers led by Hon. Edison Ehie, who had emerged as a rival Speaker.

The Ehie-led faction passed the budget, which was quickly assented to by Governor Fubara.

However, following the intervention of President Bola Tinubu, both Fubara and Wike signed a peace pact that included the restoration of Amaewhule as the bona fide Speaker of the State Assembly.

The Court of Appeal had earlier validated the Amaewhule-led lawmakers as the authentic members of the Assembly, upholding a Federal High Court judgment that nullified the 2024 budget of Rivers State.

The appellate court held that Governor Fubara acted unconstitutionally by presenting the budget before a faction of the Assembly, and that the National Assembly could not take over the legislative affairs of the state without meeting certain preconditions.

With the Supreme Court’s dismissal of Governor Fubara’s appeal, the Amaewhule-led lawmakers have been reaffirmed as the authentic members of the Rivers State Assembly.

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