A lawsuit to force Governor Siminialayi Fubara to re-present the state’s 2024 budget to its 26 lawmakers, led by Speaker Martins Amaewhule, was dismissed by the Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
The case, filed by the Registered Trustees of the Association of Claimants of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners, named the Government of Rivers State, the Governor, and the Attorney-General as defendants.
In his ruling, Justice S.M. Aprioku declared that the suit was premature and lacked merit.
According to The Nation, he stated that the issue of the legitimacy of the 27 defecting lawmakers, whose seats were vacated by their defection, was still pending in various courts.
As a result, the status quo should be maintained until these cases were resolved.
The court also noted that the claimants had not challenged the facts presented by the defendants regarding the lawmakers’ defection.
Justice Aprioku emphasized that under Section 109(1)(G) of the Nigerian Constitution, once a lawmaker defects without division in their party, they automatically vacate their seat.
Therefore, the Governor could only engage with lawmakers who did not defect.
He also pointed out that until the Supreme Court ruled on the jurisdiction issue concerning the defecting lawmakers, the suit seeking declaratory reliefs was premature.
The court dismissed the suit and awarded a cost of N500,000 in favor of the defendants.CONTINUE FULL READING>>>>>
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