The Rivers State governor, Siminalayi Fubara, is heading to the Supreme Court to appeal Thursday’s Court of Appeal judgment, which affirmed the decision of the Federal High Court that set aside the N800 billion budget passed by five members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, which Edison Ehie led at the time.
The Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Israel Dagogo Iboroma, who made this known in a statement, said Governor Fubara had directed his lawyers to file an appeal against the judgment of the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court and also file an application for stay of execution of the Appeal Court ruling.
The Attorney General said the Governor is dissatisfied with the Appeal Court's decision to dismiss the state’s case concerning the 2024 budget and the National Assembly’s temporary takeover of the Rivers State House of Assembly’s functions.
The Attorney General said that contrary to widespread perceptions, the court did not reinstate Martin Amaewhule and 26 others, who he said had defected from the PDP to the APC in December 2023. He said their defection automatically rendered their seats vacant by Section 109(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution, a matter he said was not raised in the Court of Appeal’s ruling.
"The issue before the court was not the defection of Amaewhule and others but the legislative functions of the Assembly and the passage of the 2024 Appropriation Law. There is no court ruling reinstating them as members of the House," Iboroma stated.
He further noted that while the Governor withdrew his cases in line with the President’s directive to de-escalate tensions in the state, Mr Amaewhule’s faction proceeded with their suit, resulting in Thursday's judgment.
The Rivers State Government, however, called on the public to disregard the information suggesting that the Amaewhule faction has been reinstated, stressing that the Governor’s appeal to the Supreme Court will maintain the status quo until a final judgment is delivered.
