The Supreme Court, yesterday, reserved judgment in the appeal the All Progressives Congress, APC, filed to nullify the outcome of the Local Government elections that held in Rivers State on October 5, 2024.
A five-member panel of the apex court, headed by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji, okayed the matter for judgment, after parties adopted their final briefs of argument.
The court had earlier in the day dismissed an appeal Governor Siminialayi Fubara filed to challenge another judgment that sought to compel him to re-present the 2024 budget of the state before the Martin Amaewhule-led faction of the Rivers State Assembly, which he argued had been overtaken by event.
Meanwhile, the Opposition Coalition has clarified that no Supreme Court judgment was issued against Fubara, despite speculations to the contrary, adding that Oko Jumbo remains the legitimate Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
While the APC, through its team of lawyers, led by Mr. J. Daudu, urged the Supreme Court to set-aside the November 21, 2024, judgment of the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, which declined to invalidate the election, Mr. Yusuf Ali, who announced appearance for Fubara, as well as Chris Uche, who represented the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, RSIEC, sought the dismissal of the appeal.
Recall that the appellate court vacated the judgment that barred the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, from releasing voters register to the RSIEC for the conduct of the LG polls.
The Justice Onyekachi Otisi-led panel, in a unanimous decision, held that the high court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain suit against the Rivers State LG elections.
According to the appellate court, section 28 of the Electoral Act does not cover elections conducted by states but only Federal elections, governorship and Area Council Elections in the Federal Capital Territory.
Meantime, the Supreme Court adjourned the case for judgment on a day it dismissed an appeal Fubara filed to challenge another judgment that sought to compel him to re-present the 2024 budget of the state before Martin Amaewhule-led faction of the Rivers State Assembly.
When the appeal was called up for hearing, yesterday, Fubara’s lawyer applied to withdraw it, saying it had been overtaken by events.
Neither Wole Olanipekun, who stood for the Amaewhule-led Rivers State lawmakers, nor Mr. Daudu, who represented the 3rd to 12th defendants, challenged the withdrawal, though they persuaded the apex court to award N2million cost to each of them.
The respondents further convinced the Justice Abba-Aji-led panel to dismiss the matter instead of striking it out, noting that they have already exchanged processes with the Appellant.
Maintaining that Fubara’s loss was “self-inflicted,” the appelate court held that since his counter-affidavit was withdrawn, “the appellant is deemed to have admitted the rather weighty facts that were presented by the respondents.”
The Supreme Court, yesterday, also reserved its verdict on seven consolidated appeals that are trailing the Appeal Court judgment that vacated the order that initially stopped the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, from releasing monthly statutory allocations to Rivers State.
Factional members of the Rivers State Assembly loyal to the immediate past governor of the state and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Mr. Nyesom Wike, had insisted that all federal monthly allocations meant for Rivers state, should be withheld.
On his part, governor Fubara argued that the Amaewhule-led group had since ceased to be lawmakers in the state, having decamped from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, which sponsored their election, to the All Progressives Congress, APC. (Vanguard)
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