Supreme Court Dismisses Fubara’s Appeal Against Rivers Assembly, Orders N2m Payment

The Supreme Court in Abuja has dismissed an appeal filed by Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara challenging the leadership of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

A five-member panel led by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji delivered the ruling on Monday, ordering Fubara to pay N2 million to the Assembly and its Speaker, Martin Amaewhule.

The case was dismissed after Fubara’s lawyer, Yusuf Ali, withdrew the appeal, citing that it had been overtaken by events.

The decision follows a previous Court of Appeal ruling on October 10, 2024, which faulted Fubara for presenting the 2024 Rivers State budget to only four out of 31 Assembly members, violating Section 96 of the 1999 Constitution.

Despite Fubara’s argument that the Amaewhule-led faction lost legitimacy after defecting from the PDP to the APC, lower courts ruled that he failed to prove their defection, making his budget presentation unconstitutional.

At the Supreme Court hearing, J.B. Daudu (SAN) and Wole Olanipekun (SAN), representing the respondents, requested a cost of N2 million, which the court granted while dismissing the appeal.