The Court of Appeal in Abuja has affirmed the earlier ruling of the Federal High Court, which nullified the passage of Rivers State’s N800 billion 2024 budget.
The budget had been controversially passed by only four members of the House of Assembly, a move that was ruled as illegal.
In its judgment on Thursday, a three-member panel of the appellate court, led by Justice Joseph Oyewole, dismissed the appeal filed by the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, against the Federal High Court’s January 22 decision.
The appeal was deemed unmeritorious, with Justice Oyewole stating that the Governor had withdrawn all the legal documents he initially filed to contest the case, effectively conceding to the allegations made by the plaintiffs.
Justice Oyewole emphasized that by failing to challenge the case at the trial court, Governor Fubara could not now attempt to appeal the judgment.
The January 22 ruling by Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court had described the passage of the 2024 Appropriation Bill by the five lawmakers, led by Ehie Edison, as an “aberration and illegality.”
Justice Omotosho ruled that the Rivers State Governor must reintroduce the budget to the properly constituted Assembly, led by Martins Amaewhule, for proper deliberation and passage.
This ruling is a setback for Governor Fubara’s administration, as the N800 billion budget remains void and must now be presented to the full House of Assembly for reconsideration.