By Abiola Olawale
It appears the coast has now been cleared for the 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly led by Speaker Martin Amaewhule to resume full duties as lawmakers.
This is as the Supreme Court, in its ruling on Monday dismissed the suit filed by Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State, seeking to remove the estranged 27 members of the State House of Assembly on the grounds of their alleged defection from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The Apex Court, in a ruling delivered by Justice Musa Uwani-Aba-Aji, held that the dismissal of the suit comes after Fubara dramatically withdrew the appeal through his lead counsel, Yusuf Ali SAN.
Justice Umani-Aba-Aji held that Fubara informed the court about a notice for withdrawal of the case.
The judge said that the Governor simply informed the 3-man panel of Justices of the Court that events had overtaken his suit.
Following the request for the withdrawal of the contentious suit, the move was not opposed by the Rivers State House of Assembly and its Speaker, Martin Amaewhule, who was represented by Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN.
With no objections from the parties, the Apex Court dismissed the case and awarded N4M against Fubara to be paid to the House of Assembly and Amaewhule.
Addressing newsmen shortly after the dismissal of the suit, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, (SAN) Ken Njemanze said that the coast has been finally cleared for the 27 lawmakers to take over the House of Assembly fully.
The New Diplomat reports that the political crisis in Rivers State has been marked by legal battles, factional disputes in the Rivers State House of Assembly, and conflicting court rulings.
The crisis escalated following an acrimonious relationship between Fubara and his predecessor, incumbent Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.
The political conflict between Fubara and Wike also led to a split in the Rivers State House of Assembly, with 27 lawmakers believed to be loyal to Wike and a smaller faction supporting Fubara.
The legal issue surrounding the 27 pro-Wike lawmakers began after they defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in December 2023.
Following the development, the Fubara-backed faction of the PDP declared their seats vacant, citing Section 109(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution, which states that lawmakers who defect from their sponsoring party lose their seats.
The Fubara administration argued that these defections automatically vacated, invalidated the lawmakers’ seats, while the pro-Wike lawmakers proceeded to challenge this in court, leading to multiple legal battles.
Meanwhile, the Court of Appeal in Abuja, in a ruling on October 10, 2024, affirmed Martin Amaewhule (a pro-Wike lawmaker) as the legitimate Speaker of the Rivers State Assembly and nullified the 2024 budget passed by the Fubara-backed faction, stating it was unconstitutional.
