Fubara accepts S’Court verdict, requests audience with Amaewhule-led House of Assembly
Rivers State Government, headed by Governor Siminalayi Fubara, has invited the Martins Amaewhule-led House of Assembly for a dialogue.
The meeting is scheduled for Monday, March 10, at the Governor’s Office in Port Harcourt, the state capital.
The notice of the meeting was signed by the Secretary to the State Government, TammyWenike Danagogo.
The request for the meeting followed the judgment of the Supreme Court, which recognised Amaewhule as the speaker of the state House of Assembly.
According to the letter of invitation sent to the House members through the speaker, the invitation followed the receipt of the Supreme Court judgment by Fubara.
READ ALSO: “I will comply when I get official letter on 2025 Appropriation Bill” – Fubara
The meeting seeks to, among others, discuss the provision of a befitting space for the Assembly’s sittings; payment of all outstanding remuneration or allowances of members; presentation of the 2025 budget and sundry matters; and any other matter(s) that may be necessary for the good of the state.
The request for the meeting followed the judgment of the Supreme Court, which recognised Amaewhule as the speaker of the state House of Assembly.
Recall that following the Supreme Court ruling in favour of the Amaewhule-led Assembly, the House had, on Monday, March 3, given Fubara 48 hours to re-present the 2025 budget.
Responding, the government said it had yet to receive any official communication regarding the ultimatum.
In a letter dated March 5, addressed to Amaewhule, the secretary to the state government noted that the administration only learnt about the letter containing the ultimatum on social media.
He explained that as of the close of business on March 4, neither the offices of the governor, the deputy governor, nor the accountant general had received any such correspondence.
The Supreme Court judgment reinstated Amaewhule and his faction as the legitimate members of the Assembly, which consequently invalidated the previous budget presentation made by Fubara to a splinter faction of the Assembly.
The court deemed Fubara’s presentation of an appropriation bill before a small faction of Assembly as absurd.
It also annulled the recent local government election conducted in the state by Fubara.
Fubara had signed the N1.18 trillion 2025 appropriation bill into law on January 2, after presenting it to a four-member assembly led by Victor Oko-Jumbo.
The lawmakers on Monday also referenced constitutional provisions and the Rivers State Local Government (Amendment) Law, 2023, which prohibits the administration of local governments by unelected officials, as directed by Fubara shortly after the Supreme Court ruling.
Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, currently the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), have been at loggerheads over who controls the PDP structure in the state.
Fubara has vehemently resisted Wike’s insistence on controlling the party in the state, with both leaders, who were allies before the 2023 governorship election, turning arch-rivals months after Fubara assumed power.
At the onset of the crisis, 27 members of the state House of Assembly who were loyal to the former governor decamped to the All Progressives Congress – the party in which Wike serves as minister in Abuja.
In addition to declaring the defectors’ seats vacant, Fubara sacked all 23 local government chairmen elected under Wike and declared that their tenure had expired.
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