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Stops Fabura from interfering with State House
By Vivian Okejeme, Abuja
Justice James Omotoso of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on Monday, declared as null and void the presentation of the 2024 Rivers State Budget by a group of unlawful four members of legislators in the state.
With this judgement, the court has seemly put an end to political crisis rocking the Rivers state House of Assembly as it also stopped the state governor, Siminalayi Fubara from interfering with the legislative functions of the House.
James Omotoso, in his judgment ordered Fabura to release all monies standing in the credit of the State House of Assembly and to stop intefaring or tampering with the funds allocated to the House.
The court also ordered the Rivers state government to release all monies credited to the Rivers House of Assembly, adding that the state government is not entitled to withhold funds meant for the state House of Assembly.
The state government was also restrained from withholding the salaries and emoluments of the Speaker and members of the Rivers state House of Assembly and held that the state governor cannot give any instructions to the State House of Assembly without passing such instructions through the Speaker of the House.
The court also held that, there is nothing before the court to show that the Rivers state House of Assembly was unable to sit to carry out its duties to warrant taking over of its affairs by the National Assembly.
The Judge held that State Houses of Assembly should not be treated as if they are appendages of the National Assembly and voided the deployment of the Clerk and deputy clerk of the Rivers state House of Assembly.
The Court held that the purported sitting of the Rivers state House of Assembly other than the one led by the second plaintiff was in violation of the interim order of the court.
“Thus, the purported sitting of the four members of the House of Assembly in violation of the order of the court was a nullity.
“The presentation of the 2024 budget of the state and appropriation bill by governor Fabura is void and considered not to have existed in the eyes of the law because, it was in violation of the interim order of the Court”, the Judge held.
The Court in a judgment, the court restored the leadership Hon Martin Amaewhule, leader of the 25 legislators loyal to the former governor of the state, Nyesom Wike, as the lawful and authentic Speaker of the House of Assembly.
Among others, Justice Omotoso ordered the governor Fubara to represent the budget to the legally constituted House of Assembly under Speaker Martin Amaewhule, as the meeting of the four legislators where the budget was purportedly passed is nullity and of no effect whatsoever.
Justice Omotosho said that the presentation of the budget by the governor to the four lawmakers was a contempt to his order issued against him.
He further faulted the redeployment of the Clerk and Deputy Clerk out of the House of Assembly done by the Governor as an affront to the principle of separation of power and was declared null and void and set aside.
Therefore, he ordered the Clerk and the Deputy Clerk to resume office in the House of Assembly immediately and unhindered.
The Inspector General of Police and his agents were ordered to immediately give adequate security to the Speaker and legislators loyal to former Governor Nyesom Wike.
The National Assembly was barred from taking over the Rivers State House of Assembly or accept or treat any request from Governor Fubara to any effect.
Governor Fubara was also ordered to release immediately, all monies standing in the credit of the House of Assembly to Martin Amaewhule led House of Assembly.
In the amended originating summons filed on 11 December 2023 by their team of lawyers including Ken Njemanze, James Ogwu Onoja, Ferdinand Orbih and Moses Ebute, all Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN), the plaintiffs sued the National Assembly, Senate President, Deputy Senate President, Senate Majority Leader, and Senate Minority Leader as the 1st to the 5th defendants,respectively.
The House of Representatives Speaker, House Deputy Speaker, House Majority Leader, House Minority Leader, Clerk to the National Assembly were also sued as the 6th to the 10th defendants, respectively.
They also sued the Governor of Rivers State, Attorney-General of Rivers, Commissioner of Finance, Accountant-General of Rivers, Rivers State Civil Service Commission, Inspector-General of Police and Edison Ehie, who was also listed as Rivers State House of Assembly’s Speaker in the suit, as the 11th to the 17th defendants, respectively.
The plaintiffs sought an order of injunction restraining the 1st to the 10th defendants from entertaining any request from the 11th defendant (Governor Fubara) to take over the performance of the functions of Rivers State Assembly, including its role to make laws for the peace, order and good government of Rivers in respect of matters that are within its constitutional and legislative competence.
They sought an order of injunction restraining Governor Fubara from impeding or frustrating the assembly under Amaewhule’s leadership as its speaker.
They equally sought an order restraining Mr Fubara as well as the 12th, 13th and 14th defendants from withholding any amount standing to the credit of the Rivers State House of Assembly in the state’s Consolidated Revenue Fund, including salaries and emoluments due and payable to the speaker, deputy speaker and other members of the house as well as to the clerk, deputy clerk and other members of staff of the assembly.
Alternatively, they sought an order of injunction restraining them from denying the Assembly of the due funds for running its affairs including the payment of salaries, allowances, emoluments and meeting its financial obligations no matter how described, among other 11 reliefs.
