A three-judge panel of the Court of Appeal ruled in favour of FCT minister Nyesom Wike-backed state lawmakers on Thursday.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Thursday affirmed a lower court's decision nullifying the Rivers State's 2024 budget signed into law and being operated by Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
The N800 billion budget passed in December 2023 by a faction of the fractured state's House of Assembly consisting of four lawmakers led by Edison Ehie. The faction is loyal to Governor Fubara.
A three-judge panel of the Court of Appeal led by Joseph Oyewole unanimously affirmed the House's faction led by Speaker Martin Amaewhule as the legitimate legislative authority, which had earlier invalidated the state's 2024 budget.. .
Mr Oyewole made the pronouncements after dismissing the appeal filed by Governor Fubara against the 22 January decision of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Mr Amaewhule leads an overwhelming majority faction of 27 members loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and immediate-past Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, against the four members favoured by Governor Fubara.
The Court of Appeal ruled on Thursday that passing the budget by only four lawmakers violates quorum requirement and relying on such a budget by the governor amounts to "executive recklessness."
The court also said the presentation of the budget before the House and signing it by the governor within 24 hours were in disregard of an order of the Federal High Court.
It also held that the appeal filed by the Governor Fubara against the 22 January 22 judgement of the trial Federal High Court was unmeritorious. It held that Mr Fubara, having failed to challenge the case at the trial court, by withdrawing all his filings against the suit, has lost the right to appeal against the trial court's judgement.
Mr Oyewole held that withdrawing all his processes before the lower court means the governor conceded to all the allegations, including the illegal demolition of parts of the House of Assembly and redeploying its officials, amounted to an admission and deemed to be true under the law.
The judgment condemned Mr Fubara's decision to redeploy the Clerk and Deputy Clerk of the Assembly after the demolition of parts of the legislative complex, describing it a violation of the principle of separation of powers.
"It is a notorious fact that facts, claims and allegations not challenged, not disputed are deemed admitted in law. The governor was alleged to have demolished parts of the House of Assembly, redeployed the Clerk and Deputy Clerk of the House and yet none of the allegations was disputed.
"Rather, he voluntarily withdrew all the processes and opted out of the case against him at the federal government. His journey to this Court of Appeal is unknown to law.
"Having withdrawn from the case, he can no longer claim to be aggrieved by the judgment of the same high court. He has lost the legal right to make any complaint against the judgment.
"His appeal to this court is bereft of merit and is hereby dismissed for want of merit," Mr Oyewole ruled.
'Re-submit budget'
The court ordered Mr Fubara to re-submit the budget to the full House led by Speaker Amaewhule.
The court criticised Mr Fubara's inconsistent legal strategy, calling it "approbating and reprobating."
The court ordered the Inspector General of Police to provide security at the Assembly complex to ensure that the pro-Wike lawmakers can carry out their duties.
Mr Fubara's appeal was dismissed as lacking merit. The court also ordered him to pay N500,000 in damages to each of the 13 respondents.
Background
In January, the Federal High Court in Abuja nullified Rivers State's N800 billion 2024 budget, signed into law by Governor Fubara.
The judge, James Omotoso, ordered Governor Fubara to re-present the budget to the state legislature under Mr Amaewhule. The budget had originally been passed by a faction of five lawmakers aligned with Fubara.
Tensions within the Rivers State Assembly had escalated after 27 lawmakers, loyal to Mr Wike, attempted to impeach Governor Fubara, revealing a rift between the governor and his former political ally.
When it came time to present the 2024 budget, Governor Fubara bypassed the 27 pro-Wike lawmakers, led by Mr Amaewhule, and submitted it to five legislators loyal to him, led by Mr Ehie.
In response to the deepening crisis, the pro-Wike lawmakers defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The pro-Fubara faction then declared their seats vacant, prompting a lawsuit from the Wike-aligned group.
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In their suit, the pro-Wike lawmakers sought to prevent the National Assembly from taking over the functions of the Rivers State House of Assembly amid the political turmoil.
They also requested the court to invalidate all actions taken by the pro-Fubara lawmakers, including the passage of the 2024 budget.
The judge ruled in favour of the pro-Wike group, declaring the actions of the five pro-Fubara lawmakers, including the budget's passage, as null and void.
He ordered Governor Fubara to re-submit the budget to the full Assembly, led by Speaker Amaewhule.
Additionally, the judge criticised Governor Fubara's decision to redeploy the Clerk and Deputy Clerk of the Assembly, ruling that it exceeded the governor's authority.
The court further restrained Governor Fubara from interfering in the operations of the House, halting any demolition or construction activities related to the Assembly building, and ensuring that the Assembly's funds could not be withheld by the governor.
The ruling underscored the autonomy of the legislature and reaffirmed that only the House of Assembly, under Mr Amaewhule's leadership, had the authority to manage its internal affairs.
