Human rights lawyer Femi Falana has explained that the Supreme Court verdict on the appeal by Rivers State governor Siminalayi Fubara against the Martin Amaewhule-led House of Assembly has nothing to do with who is the authentic Speaker of the House.
Falana said this on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, February 10, 2025, following the Supreme Court dismissal of the appeal filed by the governor.
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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.
“In 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.
According to Falana, the 2024 budget proposal, which was the issue that led to the appeal, has already been passed into law, and there was no need to continue litigation.
It would be recalled that a five-man panel of the Supreme Court led by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji had dismissed the appeal against the Amaewhule-led group, hinging on the withdrawal of the suit by Fubara’s counsel, Yusuf Ali.
The Rivers State Assembly crisis started in 2023 when over 25 lawmakers loyal to former governor Nyesom Wike dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Amaewhule’s leadership of the House was then contested by lawmakers in a rival group led by Victor Oko-Jumbo, a three-member faction believed to be loyal to Fubara.
Since then, Fubara has been transacting the state’s business with the Oko-Jumbo group, ignoring the Amaewhule faction.
However, Falana explained that three members of the state House of Assembly can carry out legislative functions except when it comes to impeaching the governor.
He insisted that the 27 PDP lawmakers of the Rivers State House of Assembly who decamped to the APC lost their seats because they were declared vacant.