Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, clarified on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday that the Supreme Court ruling on the appeal by Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara against the Martin Amaewhule-led House of Assembly does not address the legitimacy of the Speaker of the House.
This statement followed the Supreme Court’s dismissal of the governor’s appeal.
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“When an appeal is dismissed not on merit but on the basis of withdrawal by the appellant, the question of celebration doesn’t arise. What happened in this case is that the governor of Rivers State instructed his lawyers to withdraw the appeal on the grounds that it has become an academic exercise.
“I other words, the issues are no longer alive and therefore, why do you want to waste the time of the court? It wasn’t contrary to what a colleague was saying, the court did not determine who is a speaker or who is not a speaker, no, it didn’t come up,” Falana said.
Femi Falana explained that the issue addressed by the Federal High Court, which led to the appeal, was the 2024 budget proposal.
According to the governor, the budget had already been passed into law, making further litigation unnecessary.
A five-judge panel of the Supreme Court, led by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, dismissed the appeal against the Amaewhule-led group, citing the withdrawal of the suit by Governor Fubara’s lawyer, Yusuf Ali.
The Rivers State House of Assembly has been embroiled in a prolonged crisis since 2023, following the defection of over 25 lawmakers loyal to former Governor Nyesom Wike from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The leadership of the House under Amaewhule was contested by a rival faction led by Victor Oko-Jumbo, who is loyal to Fubara.
Since then, Fubara has conducted state business with the Oko-Jumbo group, disregarding the Amaewhule faction.
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