Rivers State Governor Simianalayi Fubara has been mandated to present the 2024 Budget to the Martins Amaewhule-led House of Assembly.
The Court of Appeal ruled that the governor was wrong to have presented a budget to four members of the 32-man House of Assembly. It equated the action to autocracy.
It affirmed the Federal High Court judgment nullifying the passage of the Rivers State Budget by a four-member House of Assembly.
In a unanimous judgment, a three-member panel of the Abuja Appeal Court, led by Justice Joseph Oyewole, held that the appeal filed by Governor Siminalayi Fubara against the January 22 judgment was unmeritorious.
On January 22, a Federal High Court presided over by Justice James Omotosho nullified the passage of the N800 billion 2024 budget, describing it as illegal.
Fubara has directed his lawyers to head for the Supreme Court to set aside the verdict and to apply for a stay of execution.
Justice Oyewole, who read the judgment, determined the appeal, marked: CA/ABJ/CV/133/2024 on a single issue, having earlier struck out eight grounds of appeal and five out of the six issues raised by the appellant.
The sole issue, which was whether the trial court was right when it granted the reliefs in the first and second respondents’ motion on notice filed on December 15, 2023, was resolved against the appellant.
The judge held that having failed to challenge the case at the trial court by withdrawing all the processes (documents) he filed against the suit, he (Fubara) could not turn around to appeal the judgment.
He held that by withdrawing all his documents on January 8, he conceded to all the allegations made against him and all the facts as stated by the plaintiffs.
Justice Oyewole awarded N500,000 as cost in favour of each of the first to 12th respondents.
