The Supreme Court has dismissed the appeal filed by Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, challenging the judgment that required him to present the state’s 2024 appropriation to the faction of the House of Assembly led by Hon. Martin Amaewhule.
A five-member panel of justices, headed by Justice Uwani Musa Aba-Aji, dismissed the appeal after Fubara’s legal team, led by Yusuf Ali (SAN), withdrew the case.
Both the Federal High Court and Court of Appeal had ruled that Fubara could not present the 2024 appropriation to a five-member House of Assembly, which was led by Hon. Edison Ehie.
Fubara had argued that the Amaewhule-led faction was no longer a lawful part of the assembly because they defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
However, both lower courts found no evidence that the Amaewhule faction of 27 lawmakers had defected and concluded that Fubara’s budget presentation was improper.
Dissatisfied with the lower courts’ rulings, Fubara appealed to the Supreme Court, seeking to overturn the decisions and present the budget to the Amaewhule-led faction.
However, on Monday, Ali informed the justices of the notice of withdrawal filed on February 6, citing that the appeal had been overtaken by events.
Representatives for the Rivers State House of Assembly and Amaewhule, Wole Olanipekun (SAN) and Chief Joseph Daudu (SAN), respectively, expressed no objection to the withdrawal but urged the court to dismiss the appeal rather than strike it out, given that the parties had already joined issues. They also requested a cost of two million naira for each of their clients.
Justice Aba-Aji granted the application, dismissing the appeal, and awarded the requested costs of two million naira in favor of the first to twelfth respondents.
