S/Court orders Rivers pro-Wike lawmakers to resume sitting

• Stops CBN from releasing fund, allocation to state

By Vivian Okejeme

The Supreme Court, Friday, ordered pro-Wike lawmakers to resume sitting as well as  ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria CBN and the Accountant General of the Federation to shop further releasing financial allocations to Rivers state government with immediate effect.

With the ruling, the Supreme Court affirmed the judgments of the Court of Appeal and the Federal high court, both in Abuja which had earlier declared the acts against the 27 state of House of Assembly members as unlawful and illegal.

A sum of N10 million fine was imposed on Fubara to be paid to the House of assembly and the 27 members who instituted the suit against him.

In the unanimous judgment of the 5-man panel of Justices led by Justice Musa Uwani Aba-Aji, the court held that the order shall be in force until the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara stops all his illegal,  unlawful and unconstitutional activities.

The Apex, in the judgement read by delivered by Justice Emmanuel Akomaye Agim, specifically held that no money shall be released to the state government until a lawful Appropriation Law is enacted under the Martin Amaewhule Speakership.

Therefore, it ordered the 27- members of Rivers House of Assembly to resume function immediately and dismantled all actions carried out by governor Fubara for being unlawful.

The Apex court also ordered that the Clerk and Deputy Clerk who were unlawfully redeployed out of the House of assembly must be allowed to resume work alongside the House of assembly workers.

The court held that it was aberration for governor Fubara to operate with only 4 out of the 32 House of assembly members under the guise of baseless fears that he would be impeached.

According to the Justices, Fubara by his unlawful act among others, collapsed the House of assembly and used his immunity under section 308 of the 1999 Constitution to carry out barbaric acts against the rule of law.

The federal high court had held that the receipt and disbursement of monthly allocations since January last year by governor Siminalayi Fubara was a Constitutional sommersault and aberration that must not be allowed to continue.

Justice Joyce Abdulmalik who delivered the Federal high court judgment had last year issued an order that the presentation of the 2024 budget by Fubara before a 4-member Rivers House of Assembly was an affront to the Constitutional provision.

Specifically, the Judge had  said that Fubara action in implementing unlawful budget smacked gross violations of the 1999 Constitution he swore to protect.

Therefore, the CBN, Accountant General of the Federation, Zenith Bank and Access Bank are restricted from further allowing Fubara to access money from the Consolidated Revenue and Federation Accounts.