Elders in Rivers State have filed a motion ex parte urging the court to prevent Governor Siminalaye Fubara from presenting the 2024 budget afresh to the state House of Assembly. This comes after the governor had previously presented an N800 billion 2024 budget to a faction of the Assembly comprising four lawmakers.
The Rivers State Assembly became factionalized following attempts by 27 lawmakers loyal to ex-governor Nyesom Wike to impeach Fubara. In December, President Bola Tinubu intervened, leading to a meeting where an eight-point resolution was signed to settle the political crisis. One resolution was for Fubara to present the 2024 budget again to the pro-Wike lawmakers.
The Rivers elders, however, criticized the resolution, claiming it favored Wike against Fubara and that President Tinubu’s role was unconstitutional. In their lawsuit, the elders listed President Tinubu, the Attorney General of the Federation, Fubara, the Rivers Assembly, the Speaker of the Rivers State Assembly, and the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission as defendants.
The elders previously sought to declare the peace agreement unconstitutional and an undermining of the constitution. In the recent motion ex parte, they called on the court to restrain the state House Assembly and the Speaker from allowing the 27 defected lawmakers to participate in the plenary.
Meanwhile, the Rivers Assembly, in line with the Abuja resolution, conducted a fresh screening and confirmed the 10 pro-Wike commissioners who resigned from Fubara’s cabinet for reabsorption. The commissioners, loyal to Wike, were given approval after a brief introduction during the screening. The Speaker directed the Clerk to forward the names of the commissioners-designate to the governor for action. However, the Speaker expressed frustration over Fubara’s failure to respond to correspondences sent by the Assembly, threatening to reject further correspondences if the trend continued.
