Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered all parties involved in the Rivers State Assembly crisis to maintain the status quo.
In a ruling delivered on Monday, Justice Abdulmalik instructed the parties not to take any further actions until the court determines an application seeking to prevent Governor Siminalayi Fubara from representing the already approved 2024 budget of the state before the legislative house.
The court has scheduled February 28 to hear the application, which was brought before it by six state elders. The plaintiffs, led by Hon. Victor Okon Jumbo, a member of the Rivers State House of Assembly representing Bonny State Constituency, include Senator Bennett Birabi, Senator Andrew Uchendu, Rear Admiral O.P. Fingesi, Ann Kio Briggs, and Emmanuel Deinma.
Through their legal representative, Olukayode Ajulo, the plaintiffs sought a declaration from the court to vacate the seats of 27 lawmakers in the state who defected from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the All-Progressives Congress (APC). In a 19-paragraph affidavit, the court was informed that in November 2023, 27 out of 32 members of the Rivers State Assembly defected from the PDP without any lawful justification and began holding proceedings at a different location.
The plaintiffs asserted that the defected lawmakers are fully loyal to the former Governor of Rivers State, now Minister of F.C.T, Nyesom Wike, and disloyal to the current Governor, Mr. Siminilaya Fubara. They contended that only five members remained loyal to the PDP, questioning the constitutionality of a peace agreement allegedly forced by President Bola Tinubu between Governor Fubara and the former governor, Nyesom Wike.
READ ALSO: Court Nullifies N800bn Rivers Budget Passed By Pro-Fubara Lawmakers
The plaintiffs argued that the agreement, signed on December 18, 2023, was illegal and amounted to an usurpation, nullification, and undermining of the relevant provisions of the 1999 Constitution. They have asked the court to determine whether President Tinubu, Governor Fubara, and the Rivers State Assembly have the right to enter into an agreement that nullifies or undermines the constitutional provisions.
Additionally, they contested President Tinubu's and Governor Fubara's statutory powers to prevent the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from conducting a fresh election to replace the defected lawmakers. In response to the case, Justice Abdulmalik ordered substituted service of court processes on the defendants, emphasising the need for them to be notified and allowed to respond to the plaintiffs' motion to halt the re-presentation of the Rivers State budget to the lawmakers who switched allegiance to the APC.
