Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has withdrawn his appeal against the Court of Appeal’s ruling that invalidated the 2024 state budget.
According to Politics Nigeria, The announcement was made on Monday by Lere Olayinka, media aide to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
Governor Fubara initially presented the 2024 budget to the Edison Ehie-led faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly in December 2023. However, on October 10, 2024, the Court of Appeal in Abuja upheld an earlier judgment by the Federal High Court, delivered on January 22, 2024, which declared the budget’s passage unlawful.
The legal battle over the budget began when lawmakers aligned with Wike, led by Martins Amaewhule, took the matter to court, arguing that the budget had not been properly passed.
This development comes amid an ongoing political rift between Fubara and his predecessor, Wike, over the control of political structures in Rivers State.
In a statement shared on social media, Olayinka suggested that by withdrawing the appeal, Fubara had effectively accepted the court’s ruling.
He wrote: “Governor Fubara of Rivers State has withdrawn his appeal No. SC/CV/1071/2024 against the Appeal Court’s judgment, which declared the 2024 budget illegal and directed him to submit it to the House of Assembly led by Rt. Hon. Martins Amaewhule.
The Appeal Court upheld the ruling in Suit No: FHC/ABJ/1613/2023, delivered by Justice J. K. Omotosho, which ordered the governor to re-submit the budget to the legally recognized House of Assembly.
With this withdrawal, Governor Fubara has accepted the rulings of both the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal, which determined that presenting the budget to three lawmakers was unlawful.”
As of now, Governor Fubara’s camp has not issued an official statement regarding the decision.
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