The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nyesom Wike, who is in a protracted political war with his former godson and governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, has ordered the secret dissolution of the Special Court of Appeal in the FCT that gave a favourable ruling on the Rivers State Local Government Elections.
The panel was “quietly disbanded” after it upheld the Rivers State Local Government elections conducted by the administration of Fubara.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja nullified a judgement of the Federal High Court that barred the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from releasing the voters register to the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) for the conduct of local elections in the state.
The appellate court panel, led by Onyekachi Otisi, had held on Thursday that the lower court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the suit.
The court had held that Section 28 of the Electoral Act does not accommodate elections conducted by state governments but only federal elections, governorships, and area council elections in the Federal Capital Territory.
“The Electoral Act does not apply to local government elections and the lower court lacks jurisdiction to entertain the appeal,” the panel had held.
Governor Fubara approached the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja to overturn the judgement that barred the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, from releasing monthly allocations to Rivers State.
“The panel that sat to hear the new appeal was headed by Justice Hamah Barka and it also has Justice Adebukola Banjoko and Justice Peter C. Obiora. Wike got upset and reached out to Senior Judicial officers and fixers. He secretly disbanded the first panel that gave the favourable ruling,” a top source informed SaharaReporters.
“Ironically Justice Barka had recused himself from the Rivers State issue in the panel earlier set for the same purpose saying he was under attack by some forces claiming he was compromised,” the source further revealed.
“The new panel approved by Wike is litigating on the matter from Abuja Where Wike’s wife is also a senior judge,” it was furthe revealed.
“Wike is also enraged over the decision of the accountant general to pay Rivers allocation based on what he claimed was a mere “stay of execution.”
SaharaReporters had noted that the President Bola Tinubu-led Nigerian government backtracked after it first said it would halt the October monthly Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) revenue payment to Rivers State, citing a court order as the reason.
According to Bawa Mokwa, Spokesperson for the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, the decision to stop the payment is in respect of the court order, which bars the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian government from disbursing monthly allocations to the Rivers State government.
The court order was obtained by the factional Rivers State Assembly, led by Martin Amaewhule, who had filed an originating summons against the Rivers State Executive, under the leadership of Simi Fubara.
The Amaewhule faction had alleged that the Rivers State Executive was yet to comply with the order of a Federal High Court directing it to re-present the 2024 appropriation bill to the faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
Mokwa, who spoke on Friday, emphasised that the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) would respect the court order, following due diligence until a contrary order is issued.
She later on cited a subsisting appeal saying that the allocation could not be stopped.
The FAAC typically disburses revenue to the three tiers of government, including states, local governments, and the federal government.
Governor Siminalayi Fubara had approached the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja to overturn the judgement that barred the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, from releasing monthly allocations to Rivers State.
The governor, through his team of lawyers led by Mr. Yusuf Ali, SAN, prayed to a three-member panel of the appellate court led by Justice Hamma Barka, to set aside a subsisting order of the High Court that compelled CBN from his state’s monthly allocation.
The governor claimed the High Court judgement was given in bad faith.
He urged the appellate court to allow his appeal marked CA/ABJ/CV/1303/2024, and nullify adverse orders that Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court made against the state in the judgement she delivered on October 30.
