Supreme Court judgement: Governor Fubara directs council chairmen to vacate office

The Rivers State Governor Siminalayi  Fubara  has ordered the 23 Local Government Chairmen  to hand over to heads of local government administration in their domains on Monday, an order which followed  the implementation of the Supreme Court judgment.

Penpushing reports that Fubara gave the directive in a statewide broadcast  on Sunday, explaining that his government would implement the court verdict without reservations upon receipt and studying the judgement’s certified true copy.

“Although we disagree with the judgment we are bound to obey as a law-abiding government. I urge everyone to remain calm and peacefully go about with their legitimate daily activities as we continue to do everything in our power to advance our responsibilities to the citizens”, he said

Penpushing further reports that the Governor pointed out that the verdict seems to take the state back to its trying times, stating that his administration has conducted the affairs of the state within the framework of the constitution.

The Governor, equally acknowledged that his government might have made mistakes, which he emphasised are not deliberate, just as record has it that the state has been engulfed in a political crisis after the Governor fell out with his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, who is now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory(FCT).

Penpushing also reports that the political crisis divided the members of the assembly into two factions, with 27 lawmakers loyal to  Wike while four members  aligned with the Governor, and in December 2023 the crisis got  worsened,

The seats of the pro-Wike lawmakers were declared vacant following their reported defection from the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) to the All Progressives Congress(APC), a development the Governor took advantage

Penpushing reports that Fubara presented the N800 billion 2024 budget to a four-member assembly loyal to him and signed it into law within 24 hours, prompting a legal challenge by allies of Wike.

The allies on Wike later made a detour, insisting that they never defected, while the Supreme Court on Friday ruled in their favour, a verdict which  restored the pro-Wike lawmakers as legitimate members of the  assembly.

Penpushing further reports that the Nigeria’s highest court equally  ordered the Governor to re-present the budget to them, and in addition stopped the payment of federal allocation to Rivers State and invalidated last year’s local government election held in the state.

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