- Safiu Kehinde
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike, has hailed the Supreme Court over verdict on Rivers State local government election and reinstatement of Martins Amaewhule as the state’s House of Assembly Speaker.
The FCT Minister lauded the judiciary for its boldness in standing firm against what he described as “impunity”in Rivers.
Wike made the commendation inAbuja on Fridaywhile reacting to theSupreme Court’s judgmenton the constitution of the Rivers State House of Assembly and the legality of the state’s2024 local government elections.
The Supreme Court had, on Friday, affirmedthe Rivers House of Assembly led byMr Martin Amaewhule asthe authentic and legally constituted legislative body in the state.
NPO also reported the apex court’s ruling that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Accountant-General of the Federation must halt further release of budgetary allocations to Rivers state until a valid Appropriation Act is passed by a legally constituted House of Assembly.
The Supreme Court also overturned the previous ruling of the Court of Appeal, which had held that theFederal High Court lacked jurisdiction over cases related to Rivers state funds.
The court furthernullified the local government electionsconducted in Rivers onOct. 5, 2024, stating that theyviolated relevant laws.
Reacting to the development, Wike said the judiciary deserves to commendation for its boldness.
He expressed his delight over the verdict despite taking several months.
“We must commend the judiciary for being bold and for being firm to say that this impunity will not be allowed to continue in Rivers.
“I have always said that the wheel of justice is sluggish, but it will come when it will come. We are happy that after more than 15 months, the matter has been finally put to rest.
“We are not just happy; we are happy that the right thing has been done”. He said.
The minister pointed out that it was unheard of for “three people [to] constitute an assembly to make laws and appropriation for the entire state.
“It is unheard of. We must not truncate our democracy. If you allow this, one day, one member will constitute an assembly in this country.
“Things must be done correctly for our democracy to grow,” he said.
Wike stated that thestate government had spent the 2024 budget without proper legislative approval and had also appointed commissioners without the backing of the state’s legislature.
According to him, these actions are “impeachable offences” but advised lawmakers against taking such a course.
He expressed joy that theapex court had made it clear that “you cannot have a government without a legislature”.
He also commended the supreme court fornullifying the state’s local government elections, citing the state’s electoral body’sdisregard to relevant laws.