- Declares Amaewhule-led Rivers State Assembly as lawful constituted, authentic
The Supreme Court, on Friday, stopped the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and the Accountant General of the Federation from releasing statutory monthly allocations accruing to Rivers State to the Rivers State government until the State Appropriation Bill is passed into law.
A five man panel of justices of the apex court led by Justice Uwani Aba-Aji also recognised Hon. Martins Amaewhule-led 27 members faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly as legally constituted Rivers House of Assembly.
The apex court, therefore ordered Rt.Hon Amaewhule-led Rivers State House of Assembly to forthwith resume sitting immediately unhindered.
The Supreme Court took these decisions in a judgment after it set aside the decision of Court of Appeal Abuja Division which last month vacated the trial court initial order that stopped the release of funds to Rivers State from the consolidated revenue, for lack of jurisdiction.
Delivering the lead judgement , Justice Emmanuel Agim held that contrary to the verdict of the appellate court that was based on jurisdiction, the Federal High Court in Abuja had the requisite jurisdiction to entertain the suit.
Essentially , as the Amaewhule-led 27 lawmakers suit had challenged the continued withdrawal and expenditure of funds belonging to the state without the approval of the State Assembly.
Justice Agim held that the appellate court misapprehended the core issue in dispute when it pegged it on the consolidated revenue of Rivers State alone.
“This wrong view influenced it to hold that the subject matter was not within the power of the Federal High Court,” he noted, stressing that what was at the center of the case was the refusal of governor Fubara to obey a subsisting court order mandating him to present the Appropriation Bill to the valid Assembly.
Justice Agim agreed with the decision of Federal High Court that the 27 lawmakers that allegedly defected from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the All Progressives Congress, APC, are still valid members of the Rivers Assembly, pending the final determination of their status.
The Supreme Court dismissed Governor Fubara’s claim that he acted based on doctrine of necessity, arising from the defection of the 27 lawmakers. He can not invoke the doctrine of necessity and presented the Appropriation Bill to the only five remaining members of the Assembly.
The doctrine of necessity could not be invoked to justify an illegal action.
Justice Agim who traced the genesis of disagreement between Governor Fubara and Rivers House of Assembly to alleged impeachment plot , said it was obvious from the record that the crisis started when the governor got wind of it. He pull down the Assembly building and the crisis excavated to the point of 27 members allegedly decamped.
The Supreme Court awarded N10m cost against Gov Fubara in favour of Hon. Martins Amaewhule and Rivers State House of Assembly. Other justices on the panel agreed with judgement.