Human rights lawyer Femi Falana has clarified that the Supreme Court’s decision on Rivers Gov. Siminalayi Fubara’s appeal against the Martin Amaewhule-led House of Assembly did not address the contentious issue of who is the authentic Speaker of the House.
According to Falana, the appeal was dismissed not on merit but due to withdrawal by the appellant, rendering the issue of celebration or determination of the Speaker’s legitimacy moot.
Falana emphasized that the Supreme Court’s dismissal of the appeal was based on the withdrawal of the suit by Gov. Fubara’s counsel, and not on the merit of the case.
The senior lawyer made the clarification when he appeared on Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today” on Monday night, monitored by Persecondnews.
He said: “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.”
According to Falana, the 2024 budget proposal, which sparked the appeal, has already been passed into law, rendering further litigation unnecessary.
He explained that three members of the state House of Assembly can carry out legislative functions except when it comes to impeaching the governor.
Persecondnews recalls that a five-man panel of the Supreme Court, led by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, on Monday, February 10, 2025, dismissed the appeal filed by Fubara against the Amaewhule-led House of Assembly, citing the withdrawal of the suit by Fubara’s counsel, Mr. Yusuf Ali (SAN).
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 contested by a rival group of lawmakers led by Mr. Victor Oko-Jumbo, a three-member faction believed to be loyal to Gov. Fubara.
Since then, Fubara has continued to conduct Rivers State’s business with the Victor Oko-Jumbo-led faction.
Prior to the Supreme Court decision on Monday, the Court of Appeal had, on Thursday, October 10, 2024, dismissed Fubara’s appeal on the same issue.
Also, the Federal High Court in Abuja, presided over by Justice James Omotosho on January 22, 2024, nullified the passage of Rivers State’s N800 billion 2024 budget by four members of the House of Assembly.
The court had described the bill’s passage by the four lawmakers, led by Mr. Ehie Edison, as an aberration and illegality.
It consequently ordered Fubara to re-present the budget to the Mr. Martins Amaewhule-led Assembly.
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