The Court of Appeal in Abuja has affirmed the Federal High Court’s ruling that nullified the N800 billion budget passed by a faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly loyal to Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
The Court also affirmed Martin Amaewhule as the recognised Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
In a unanimous decision delivered on Thursday, a three-member panel of justices dismissed Governor Fubara’s appeal, ruling that it lacked merit.
The court upheld the judgment of Justice James Omotosho, which declared the budget passed by pro-Fubara lawmakers in December 2023 as invalid. The “Budget of Renewed Hope, Consolidation and Continuity,” was presented by Governor Fubara and approved by lawmakers led by Edison Ehie.
However, a rival faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly, loyal to Nyesom Wike, now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), had rejected the budget, labelling it illegal. The faction filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja, seeking to void the budget.
Justice Omotosho ruled in favour of the pro-Wike lawmakers, setting aside the presentation and passage of the 2024 budget and ordering Governor Fubara to re-present the budget to the Assembly under Martin Amaewhule, the speaker recognized by the court and supported by Wike.
Governor Fubara challenged the ruling at the Court of Appeal, but the appellate court dismissed his appeal, noting that the governor had withdrawn his counter-affidavits and other processes at the lower court, which effectively left the respondents’ (the pro-Wike lawmakers) claims unchallenged.
The court emphasized that Fubara could not attempt to revive the matter through an appeal after abandoning his defence at the lower court.
