A Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt has ruled that Governor Siminalayi Fubara has the legal authority to engage with lawmakers who have not vacated their seats in the Rivers State House of Assembly.
The decision, delivered on December 20, dismissed a suit filed by the Registered Trustees of the Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners. The suit sought to compel the governor to re-present the 2024 budget proposal, amounting to N800 billion, to the 27 aggrieved lawmakers led by Martins Amaewhule.
The case, identified as PHC/3552/CS/2024, listed the Rivers State Government, the governor, and the state’s attorney general as defendants. The claimants argued that the governor’s refusal to re-present the budget to the lawmakers contravened procedural requirements.
However, Justice Sika Aprioku ruled that the governor is constitutionally permitted to transact with members of the Assembly who remain in office. The judge emphasized that lawmakers who defected to other parties have forfeited their seats and, therefore, lack the standing to demand legislative representation.
The judgment noted, “The governor cannot engage with those who, by virtue of defection, have lost their seats. Just as former Governor Ezenwo Nyesom Wike conducted state business with fewer than two-thirds of the Assembly members, Governor Siminalayi Fubara is guided by the constitution to work with the properly constituted House led by Oko-Jumbo.”
Justice Aprioku further stated that unless the defected lawmakers obtain a legal ruling to reclaim their seats or until by-elections are conducted by INEC, the governor is empowered to transact state matters solely with the remaining lawmakers.
The court dismissed the claimant’s suit as lacking merit, describing the demand for the re-presentation of the budget as baseless. The judge also awarded N500,000 in costs to the defendants.
This ruling reinforces the principle that legislative defectors automatically lose their seats unless legally reinstated or re-elected, ensuring the governor’s actions align with constitutional provisions.