November 25, (THEWILL) – Two separate judgements directed at the same end created a single reaction in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, at the weekend. The first was when the Federal Appeal Court in Abuja dismissed the judgment of Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court against the conduct of local council elections. The news of the judgement was received with jubilation among politicians and government officials.
According to the Appeal Court judgement delivered by the three-member panel of justices led by Onyekachi Otisi, the Federal High Court ruling concerning the Rivers State local government elections stand nullified because and ruled the Court lacked the jurisdiction to entertain the suit filed by the All Progressives Congress (a faction of APC), which was the first respondent in the case.
The Special Court of Appeal Panel set up to adjudicate on the political cases in Rivers State had ruled that the 23 local council elections stand valid and the federal allocation to Rivers State and the LGAs stand. Consequently, all orders and decisions made by the Federal High Court regarding the matter were set aside.
This decision reaffirmed the validity of the Rivers State Local Government Election on October 6, 2024 and overturned the earlier judgment sought to challenge it and to set aside the election.
The second related ruling was by the Special Panel of the Court of Appeal in Abuja, which last weekend reserved judgment on an appeal filed by Governor Siminalayi Fubara and others seeking to overturn a Federal High Court ruling that barred the Central Bank of Nigeria from releasing monthly allocations to Rivers State.
The three-member appellate panel, led by Justice Hamma Barka, reserved judgment after all parties involved in the case adopted their briefs of argument. A date for the judgment will be communicated to the parties.
The appeal stems from an October 30 ruling by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court, Abuja.
The court had declared the presentation of the 2024 budget by Governor Fubara before a four-member Rivers State House of Assembly unconstitutional. Justice Abdulmalik ruled that the receipt and disbursement of monthly federal allocations by the Rivers State Government since January 2024 were in breach of constitutional provisions.
The court also restrained the CBN, the Accountant-General of the Federation, Zenith Bank and Access Bank from further releasing funds to Governor Fubara from the state’s consolidated revenue account.
The Federal High Court’s judgment was delivered in a suit filed by the Martins Amaewhule-led faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/984/24.
The plaintiffs urged the court to withhold all federal allocations meant for Rivers State, arguing that Fubara’s actions violated constitutional guidelines. Dissatisfied with the decision, Governor Fubara filed an appeal, marked CA/ABJ/CV/1303/2024, challenging the Federal High Court’s order. Through his counsel, Yusuf Ali (SAN), the governor urged the appellate court to vacate the restraining order, describing it as issued in bad faith. Last Friday, the appellate panel, led by Justice Barka, consolidated five other appeals related to the High Court’s ruling.The appeals were filed by various stakeholders, including the Rivers State Government, the Accountant-General of Rivers State, and Zenith Bank Plc. Defendants in the matter include the Central Bank of Nigeria, Zenith Bank Plc, Access Bank Plc, and the Accountant-General of the Federation.
Other parties listed are the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice S.C. Amadi and RSIEC Chairman, retired Justice Adolphus Enebeli. Counsel for the appellants, including Fubara, urged the Court of Appeal to allow their appeals, arguing that the High Court judgment was flawed.
However, the Martins Amaewhule-led faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly, represented by J.B. Daudu (SAN), called on the appellate court to dismiss the appeals and uphold the Federal High Court’s ruling. After hearing submissions from all parties, the panel reserved judgment to a date yet to be announced.
However, in a twist of events, the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF), which had announced on the same Friday that it halted the disbursement of October revenue payment to Rivers State, citing the Federal High Court judgement, reversed itself after the Appeal Court ruling.
Bawa Mokwa, the spokesperson for the OAGF, who spoke to journalists last Friday, emphasised that the Federal Government would respect the court order with due diligence until a contrary order is issued.
“What I got is that the October 2024 FAAC has not been distributed yet. However, the Federal Government will obey the court order on the matter of Rivers State’s allocation,” Mokwa said, further clarifying that, “We are going to obey the court order. Since there is a notice of appeal, the notice of appeal has overridden the earlier court judgment. So far, it is a court order that we will obey; if there is a notice of appeal, Rivers will be paid.”
Reacting to the first judgement on the LG poll, the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Joseph Johnson said the judgment has rescued part of the loss of confidence in the judiciary, adding that workers and contractors are now confident that the finances of the government will be available to run the state.
“This shows that the governor made the right decisions and we expect more favourable court decisions. I repeat the call by the governor on October 30, 2024, at the state thanksgiving service that workers and contractors should continue their work without being perturbed. Now, it has been confirmed. No cause for alarm because we are standing on the side of the law and the people.
Interestingly, the faction of the opposition APC that was recognised by the court has welcomed the judgment.
According to Darlington Nwauju, the party said: “Recall that we had strongly condemned the unpatriotic moves initiated by Tony Okocha (leader of the NWC-backed faction) and his co-travellers (more especially using our party platform as smokescreen) to target and punish local government workers, state civil servants, and indeed Rivers people by attempting to use the courts to deny the state her rights to federal allocations.
He said, “Rivers APC hails this judgment order which has clearly corrected the misrepresentation of the Constitution by Justice Peter Lifu’s judgment which sought to impose INEC laws over State electoral bodies without any form of Constitutional amendment. No gainsaying the fact that the same Constitution that established INEC also gives legal backing to SIECs, hence both bodies are saddled with the responsibility of conducting elections at the appropriate tiers and there is no way INEC can seek to hijack the functions of the various SIECs except there is a Constitutional amendment.
“Therefore, our stand on this issue and resistance to other convoluted attempts at suppressing truth in our state’s politics, is today justified.”
Felix Ifijeh is a journalist with years of professional reporting experience. Known for his keen news sense, compelling storytelling and commitment to accurate, impactful reporting, he has built a reputation for turning leads into clear, engaging, and well-structured reports that resonate with readers. His work reflects deep newsroom experience and a commitment to accurate, impactful journalism.
