RIVERS CRISIS UPDATE: Supreme Court Bars CBN From Releasing Monthly Allocation To Rivers Govt, Orders Amaewhule-led Faction Of Rivers Assembly, Other Elected Members To Resume Sitting; Nullifies LG Polls

The Supreme Court on Friday, February 28, 2025, has reinstated the judgment that barred the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and the Accountant General of the Federation from releasing statutory monthly allocations to Rivers State, until the budget is presented to a properly constituted House of Assembly.

The apex court said the order subsists until the Rivers State government purges itself of what the court described as “flagrant disobedience to court orders”.

In a one hour, thirty-six-minute judgement delivered by Justice Agim, the panel was unanimous in it’s dismissal of the cross-appeal filed by Governor Siminalayi Fubara challenging the validity of the House of Assembly presided over by Martin Amaewhule as the Speaker.

Dismissing Governor Fubara’s appeal, the panel ordered Martin Amaewhule to resume sitting immediately with other elected members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

According to Justice Agim, “it is an aberration” for Governor Fubara to have purportedly presented an appropriation bill before a four-man House of Assembly thereby denying twenty-eight constituencies of effective representation in vagrant violation of a court order mandating him (Fubara) to re-present the 2024 appropriation bill before a validly constituted Assembly led by Amaewhule.

The apex court further ordered the Hon. Martins Amaewhule-led faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly and other elected members of the House to forthwith resume sitting, unhindered.

The court faulted the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal for vacating the initial order that stopped the release of funds to Rivers State from the consolidated revenue following the failure of Governor Siminalaye Fubara’s refusal to re-present the 2024 Appropriation Bill of the state before the Hon. Martins Amaewhule-led faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

While holding that contrary to the verdict of the appellate court, the Federal High Court in Abuja had the requisite jurisdiction to entertain the suit the Amaewhule-led 27 lawmakers filed to challenge the continued withdrawal and expenditure of funds belonging to the state without the approval of the State Assembly, the Apex court reasoned that the actions of Governor Fubara over the alleged defection of twenty-seven members of the Rivers Assembly is an act of brigandage and dictatorship aimed at preventing the House from performing its legitimate functions under the speakership of Amaewhule

The Court further held that the appellate court misapprehended the core issue in dispute when it pegged it on the consolidated revenue of Rivers State alone.

“This wrong view influenced it to hold that the subject matter was not within the power of the Federal High Court,” the Supreme Court noted, stressing that what was at the center of the case was the refusal of governor Fubara to obey a subsisting court order mandating him to present the Appropriation Bill to the valid Assembly.

It agreed with the high court that the 27 lawmakers that allegedly defected from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the All Progressives Congress, APC, are still valid members of the Rivers Assembly, pending the final determination of their status.

The Supreme Court dismissed Governor Fubara’s claim that given the defection of the lawmakers, he had to invoke the doctrine of necessity by presenting the Appropriation Bill to the only five remaining members of the Assembly.

And in another development, the Supreme Court in another ruling, also invalidated the October 5, 2024 Local Government Elections in River State conducted by the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission.

In a judgment delivered today, February 28, the five-man panel of judges led by Justice Jamilu Tukur declared the election is invalid for grossly violating the Electoral Act.

Reading the judgement, Justice Tukur said the action of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission is declared void for lack of substantial compliance to the Electoral Act and guidelines as the electoral body continued voter registration even after announcing an election date.

The court held that processes leading to the conduct of a local government election were abridged in clear violation of Section 150 of the Electoral Act.