Governor Siminalayi Funara of Rivers has been granted a fair judgment. The state high court sitting in Port Harcourt dismissed a suit filed to compel him to re-present the 2024 budget to the 27 lawmakers loyal to his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, who were being led by Martins Amaewhule....CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE➤
The court presided over by Justice Sika Aprioku, ruled that the governor can transact business with members who did not vacate their seats but not with those who defected and lost their seats.
According toTribune, the suit was filed by the Registered Trustees of the Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners, who questioned the defendants’ failure to re-present the 2024 Appropriation Bill to the State House of Assembly led by Amaewhule for enactment into law.
However, the court held that the claimant’s claim seeking declaratory and injunctive reliefs for re-presenting the 2024 budget to the former 27 lawmakers lacks merit and is accordingly dismissed.
During the hearing, counsel to the defendants, Lawrence Oko-Jaja (SAN), tendered documents to the court, which recalled that the Rivers State
House of Assembly between December 2015 and February 2017 comprised only six members who transacted business then-Governor, Governor Nyesom Wike. This precedent was cited to support the governor’s decision to present the budget to the existing members of the House of Assembly.
The court’s decision was based on the grounds that the 27 lawmakers who defected and lost their seats could not participate in the presentation of the budget. The court also ruled that until the Supreme Court gives its verdict on the issue of jurisdiction, which affects the status of the 27 lawmakers, the governor can only constitutionally approach those who did not vacate their seats.
The suit ended with a cost of N500,000 awarded in favour of the defendants and against the claimant. This ended the controversy surrounding the presentation of the 2024 budget in Rivers State.
Fubara was said to have made a move so that the beneficiaries could have a fulfilling Yuletide celebration in their homes. This gesture will be Governor Fubara’s second of its kind, considering he started in 2023. ...CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE➤
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