Appeal Court sets aside Rivers 2024 budget, upholds Amaewhule as speaker
By Jeffrey Agbo
The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Thursday upheld the January 22 judgment of the Federal High Court, delivered by Justice James Omotosho, which nullified the 2024 N800 billion Rivers State budget.
Ruling unanimously, a three-member panel of the court also affirmed Martin Amaewhule as the authentic Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
The court dismissed the appeal filed by the Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara for lacking in merit.
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The appellate court nullified the Rivers 2024 budget on the grounds that it was not presented before members of the State Assembly as required by law. The court admonished Governor Fubara for not adhering to the rule of law in his actions.
The court held that Governor Fubara’s decision to present the 2024 Rivers State Appropriation Bill to only four out of 31 members of the Assembly constituted a gross violation of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
The appellate court also determined that the withdrawal of the counter-affidavit Fubara initially filed to challenge a suit instituted by the Amaewhule-led lawmakers to be recognised as valid members of the Rivers State House of Assembly indicated his agreement with the claims filed against him.
