A Rivers State High Court has ruled that Governor Siminalayi Fubara can conduct business with only those lawmakers who have not vacated their seats due to defection.
According to Vanguard, this ruling was delivered by Justice Sika Aprioku on December 20, 2024, in response to a suit filed by the Registered Trustees of Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners. The suit was marked PHC/3552/CS/2024
The suit sought to compel Governor Fubara to re-present the N800 billion 2024 budget to the 27 lawmakers led by Martins Amaewhule.
During the court proceedings, it was established that some Rivers State lawmakers had defected from their original parties, which resulted in them automatically vacating their seats according to Nigerian law.
The court emphasized that Fubara could only engage with those members of the Rivers State House of Assembly who remained in their positions and did not defect.
Justice Aprioku referenced a precedent from between December 2015 and February 2017 when the Rivers State House of Assembly operated with only six members under former Governor Nyesom Wike.
The court noted that legislative business was successfully conducted during that period despite the reduced number of lawmakers.
This historical context supported the argument that a functioning government could operate with fewer than the full complement of assembly members, provided they were legally recognized as holding their positions.
The judgment clarified that until there is a resolution regarding the status of the defected lawmakers—either through a Supreme Court ruling or new elections—Governor Fubara is limited to interacting with those legislators who have retained their seats.
