•Femi Falana, SAN
Contrary to the narrative in some quarters, the Supreme Court verdict on the appeal by the Rivers State governor Siminalayi Fubara against Martin Amaewhule-led House of Assembly does not have anything to do with who is the authentic Speaker of the House.
A human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, stated this on Channels Television last night following the Supreme Court dismissal of the appeal filed by the governor.
“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.
He said that what was decided at the Federal High Court that led to the appeal was the 2024 budget proposal which the governor said has already been passed into law and that there was no need to continue litigation.
A five-man panel of the Supreme Court led by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji had dismissed the appeal against Amaewhule-led group hinging it on the withdrawal of the suit by Fubara’s counsel, Yusuf Ali.
‘Three members can carry out legislative functions’
The Rivers Assembly has been embroiled in a protracted crisis since 2023 when over 25 lawmakers loyal to former governor Nyesom Wike dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The leadership of the House by Amaewhule was then contested by lawmakers in a rival group led by Victor Oko-Jumbo known to be loyal to Fubara.
Fubara has since transacted business of the state with the Oko-Jumbo group while he ignored the Amaewhule faction.
Falana maintained that three members of the state House of Assembly can carry out legislative functions except when it has to do with impeachment of the governor.
He insisted that by decamping from the PDP to the APC, the other 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly lost their seats since the seats were declared vacant.
