Following the refusal of Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara to re-present the state’s 2024 budget in line with the terms of the agreement entered into by President Bola Tinubu’s intervention in the state’s crisis, the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Monday has nullified the N800 billion 2024 budget signed into law by the governor.
News About Nigeria reported that Fubara had presented an N800bn 2024 Appropriation Bill to a faction of the state House of Assembly, comprising four lawmakers who were loyal to him, in December 2023.
After the vetting by the lawmakers, the governor went ahead and signed the budget into law.
However, in the terms contained in President Tinubu’s intervention in the crisis in the state, he ordered the governor to re-present the 2024 budget to the Assembly, as the first time he did so was just to four people.
In the agreement, Tinubu had also tasked the lawmakers to re-screen and re-confirm nine commissioners who are loyal to the minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, who bowed out of Fubara’s cabinet.
On January 17, the lawmakers complied with the President’s term of agreement by screening and confirming the commissioners, but Governor Fubara failed to re-present the state’s budget as directed.
Delivering judgement today, the presiding judge, James Omotosho, ruled that the decision of the four lawmakers to approve the budget was null and void.
The court also ordered Fubara to re-present the budget to the fuller House of Assembly, as Martin Amaewhule is the only recognised speaker of the state assembly.
Recall that crisis broke out in Rivers State following the move by the immediate former governor of the state, Wike and lawmakers loyal to him to impeach governor Fubara and the then Speaker of the Assembly, Edison Ehie.
