Tonye Cole, co-founder of Sahara Group, says Siminalayi Fubara, governor of Rivers, is in a “precarious political situation”.
Cole, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 governorship election in Rivers, spoke on Thursday when featured on Politics Today, a programme on Channels TV.
He was reacting to the judgment of the court of appeal that affirmed the ruling of the federal high court in Abuja that voided the presentation and passage of the 2024 budget for Rivers state.
THE APPEAL COURT VERDICT
In a unanimous judgment, the appellate court on Thursday held that the appeal filed by Fubara lacked merit.
In January 2024, the federal high court in Abuja voided and set aside the presentation and passage of the state’s 2024 budget.
James Omotoso, the presiding judge, ordered Fubara to re-present the budget to the “legally” constituted house of assembly under Martin Amaewhule, the factional speaker of the assembly.
Omotoso also ordered Fubara to release all funds accruable to the Rivers parliament and barred the governor from interfering in the activities of the state’s legislative arm.
The court also nullified the redeployment of the clerk and deputy clerk of the assembly by the state’s head of civil service.
Fubara had, in December 2023, presented an N800 billion appropriation bill titled ‘Budget of renewed hope, consolidation, and continuity’, to five out of the over 30 lawmakers of the Rivers house of assembly.
The session was presided over by Edison Ehie, the factional speaker at the time.
The development followed the defection of 27 lawmakers in the assembly from the APC to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The seats were subsequently declared vacant.
‘FUBARA MAY FACE IMPEACHMENT’
Cole said Fubara is in a dangerous political situation that is “gravely” affecting governance in the state.
“The governor finds himself in a very precarious political situation. Of course, by presenting the budget back to that assembly, what this means is that the assembly (led by Amaewhule) is recognised as the legal assembly.
“Once that happens, he has to now navigate a possible impeachment issue. We have a state where the governor is PDP, the house of assembly based on the court case is APC, and you have a local government structure that is APP. So, you have three different parties running the state.”
Cole said the people of Rivers are the losers in the political crisis, adding that development is stagnant in the south-south state. “As it stands right now, the people of Rivers do not matter in the equation that is being played out.
“If the interests of Rivers people were on the table, we would not even be where we are today. This entire fight is political, and it has to do with a very small political family. As we speak today, there is no development. The political battle is affecting the poor man on the street.”
