The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the appeal filed by Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, challenging the ruling that mandated him to present the state’s 2024 budget before the faction of the House of Assembly led by Hon. Martin Amaewhule.
The decision came after Fubara, through his legal team led by Yusuf Ali (SAN), withdrew the appeal, citing that “the appeal has been overtaken by events.”
A five-member panel of justices, headed by Justice Uwani Musa Aba-Aji, ruled on the matter shortly after the notice of withdrawal was presented. The panel opted to dismiss the appeal rather than strike it out, in line with submissions made by the respondents’ counsel.
The legal dispute stemmed from Fubara’s initial decision to present the budget before a five-member House of Assembly led by Hon. Edison Ehie. His stance was based on the argument that the 27 lawmakers loyal to Amaewhule had defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), thereby forfeiting their seats.
However, both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal ruled against Fubara’s position, emphasizing that he failed to provide evidence proving the alleged defection of the Amaewhule-led lawmakers. The courts held that the Rivers State budget could not be presented to a five-member House of Assembly.
Dissatisfied with these rulings, Fubara had escalated the matter to the Supreme Court, seeking to overturn the lower courts’ verdicts.
During Monday’s hearing, Wole Olanipekun (SAN), representing the Rivers State House of Assembly and Amaewhule, alongside Chief Joseph Daudu (SAN), representing the National Assembly and its leadership, did not oppose the appeal’s withdrawal. However, they insisted that the appeal should be dismissed rather than struck out, as all parties had already joined issues in the case.
Furthermore, Olanipekun and Daudu demanded a cost of N2 million each for their respective clients.
In her ruling, Justice Aba-Aji upheld their request, dismissing the appeal and awarding N2 million in costs in favor of the first to 12th respondents.
