By Abiola Olawale
The Court of Appeal, sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State on Monday, quashed two appeals instituted by the immediate-past Local Government Chairmen of the state.
A three-man panel of the appellate court ruling on the appeals marked CA/PH/137M/2024 and CA/PH/145M/2024, filed by the former Chairman of Opobo/Nkoro LGA, Enyiada Cookey-Gam, and six others, upheld the ruling of the High Court and dismissed the appeal for lacking merit.
The New Diplomat reports that the judgment came after a State High Court in Port Harcourt had in May, declared Section 2 of the Rivers State Local Government Law No.4 of 2024, which extended the tenure of the elected council officials by six months after the expiration of their tenure, unconstitutional, null, void and inconsistent with the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
It would be recalled that the judgement is coming weeks after Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State swore in the Caretaker Committee Chairmen for the 23 LGA at the Government House in Port Harcourt, the state capital.
The governor, on June 19, had inaugurated the new caretaker chairmen hours after the House of Assembly, led by factional Speaker, Victor Jumbo, screened and confirmed the nominees.
