The political crisis in Rivers State took a fresh turn on Friday after the Supreme Court delivered judgment affirming Martin Amaewhule and 26 others as valid members of the State House of Assembly.
The verdict of the Supreme Court in Abuja had sparked wild jubilation among supporters of the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, in Rivers State.
Also, the 27 pro-Wike lawmakers, who are the major beneficiaries of the court judgment, held a plenary immediately they learnt about the ruling.
In another development, the FCT minister was seen in a viral video with his allies, including some former and serving senators praising God for the victory at the Supreme Court.
They include Senator Allwell Onyesom, Magnus Abe, Kelechi Nwogu, Emeka Woke, Chibudom Nwuche. They sang and danced with the FCT minister in celebration of the court judgment.
Commenting on the judgment, Wike said the verdict reinforced the principle that a budget must be presented to a duly constituted legislature, ensuring that governance remained lawful and accountable.
He described the judgment as victory for democracy and the people of Rivers State.
“Let’s give God all the glory and honour. God has helped to do it for everybody and for the interest of the people and the state.
“A governor would go and bring down the House of Legislature, and we will act as if nothing has happened to an arm of government that is independent,” Wike added.
A five-member panel of the Supreme Court had on Friday affirmed the Martins Amaewhule-led Rivers House of Assembly members as valid lawmakers of the House.
The apex court said it was unconstitutional for Fubara to work with only four out of the 31 House of Assembly members.
The justices berated Fubara for breaking down the Rivers House of Assembly building as a way to stop the defected 27 lawmakers from sitting, thereby forcing them to sit outside to carry out their lawful activities.
“Four members sitting as purported members of the House of Assembly in disobedience to the subsisting order of the court is a nullity,” the apex court held.
The court added that the legislature represented the fulcrum of the Assembly and must be protected at all costs.
Justice Emmanuel Agim ordered that the Clerk and Deputy Clerk of the Rivers State House of Assembly, who were unlawfully redeployed out of the Assembly, be allowed to resume work alongside other Assembly workers.
The court queried Fubara for collapsing the Assembly building and using his immunity under Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution to carry out “barbaric acts” against the rule of law.
“It is my view that it is indiscipline born out of executive powers. This is a joke taken too far,” Justice Agim added.
Speaking further, he stated the 27 members of the House of Assembly must be allowed to resume their duties without being stopped.
“The government cannot be said to exist without one of the three arms of government. The illegal actions of the governor cannot be justified,” the court declared.
The Supreme Court awarded N5m in costs against Fubara.
In the same vein, the Supreme Court on Friday made a pronouncement stopping the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Accountant-General of the Federation from releasing funds to the Rivers State Government until the State House of Assembly was properly constituted in accordance with the 1999 Constitution.
Specifically, Justice Agim affirmed the judgment of the Federal High Court that barred the state’s allocation of funds.
Recall that Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Abuja, on October 24, 2024, had in a judgment issued an order barring the CBN from further disbursing monthly financial allocations to the Rivers State Government.
Also, the apex court declared the October 5, 2024 local government elections in the state invalid.
In a judgment delivered by Justice Jamilu Tukur, the court declared the conduct of the local government polls in the state null and void.
The apex court in its decision set aside the judgment of the Court of Appeal which nullified the decision of the trial court on the grounds that it had no jurisdiction and restored the decision of the Federal High Court.
The apex court stated that all the necessary conditions required to be implemented were disregarded by the Rivers State Electoral Commission.
Recall that Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja had restrained the RSIEC from proceeding with the conduct of the council polls on the grounds that the state voter’s register must be updated before the conduct of the poll.
The judge held that the failure of RSIEC to comply with the mandatory requirement of publishing a 90-day notice before setting the election date violated the provisions of the local government election conduct law.
Meanwhile, the Rivers State House of Assembly led by its Speaker, Martin Amaewhule, has hailed the judgment of the Supreme Court which recognised him and 26 other lawmakers as authentic members of the Assembly.
Amaewhule stated this during plenary on Friday while reacting to the judgment of the apex court, describing it as victory for democracy and rule of law.
He said with the judgment, Governor Fubara would repent from his sins, pointing out that the governor was running a criminal government with illegal appointees.
This was contained in a statement issued by the media aide to the Speaker, Martins Wachukwu, and sent to newsmen.
The statement was titled, ‘We believe Governor Fubara will repent from his legion of sins, now that the Supreme Court has spoken – Rivers Assembly Speaker’.
Meanwhile, the Chief Tony Okocha-led All Progressives Congress in Rivers State has hailed the Supreme Court judgment which put paid to what it described as the “protracted crisis rocking” the executive and legislative arms of the state.
The state APC Publicity Secretary, Chibike Ikenga, stated this in a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Friday and sent to newsmen.
On his part, a chieftain of the APC in the state loyal to former Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, Chief Chukwuemeka Eze, said the Supreme Court judgment on Friday reinstating the 27 defected lawmakers as valid members of the Rivers of Assembly was a declaration of war on the state.
Eze described the ruling on Rivers crisis as not only a “black Friday” in the country’s nascent democracy, but a “declaration of war against Rivers State”.
Eze, who was the spokesman for the defunct New Peoples Democratic Party (n-PDP), however, commended and congratulated the governor for being a man by surviving the “onslaught of anti-democratic forces in Nigeria all these while.”
Reacting to the judgment, the Rivers State Government said it was awaiting briefing on the implications of the verdict especially as it concerned the state funds and local government administration.
The state Commissioner for Information and Communications, Joseph Johnson, stated this in a statement issued in Port Harcourt and sent to newsmen.
Johnson, however, said the determination of the status of the 27 pro-Wike lawmakers who defected from the PDP to the APC was not before the Supreme Court, saying it was before a Federal High Court in Rivers State.
He said, “We have taken note of reports in the media regarding the recent judgment of the Supreme Court concerning the funds of Rivers State and the administration of local governments in the state.
“At this time, we are awaiting a detailed briefing on the implications of the judgment. We will carefully evaluate the situation and determine the next steps to take in the best interest of Rivers State and its people.
“Though we have not got the details of the judgment from our legal team, we enjoin Rivers people to remain calm, law abiding and go about our legitimate businesses as we seek clarity on the judgment.
“We believe that the determination of the main issue of defection of the 27 lawmakers is a matter not before the Supreme Court as it is pending at the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt.
“Since the issue of defection wasn’t on the table before the learned Justices, in their eyes, Amaewhule and the 26 others are still operating as lawmakers until that matter of defection comes before them.”
Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Commission on Friday issued a warning regarding the handling of vacancies in the Rivers State House of Assembly following allegations from Governor Fubara.
The governor had accused INEC of selectively implementing elections to fill vacancies caused by political defections, particularly in light of the ongoing factional crisis in the Assembly.
However, INEC, in a statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, made it clear that the matter was still subjudice, with multiple court cases, including those before the Supreme Court, awaiting final decisions.
INEC warned that any attempt to act before the courts rendered a ruling could lead to the unnecessary waste of public funds and potentially result in the nullification of any actions taken.
