Following a ruling by the Federal High Court in Abuja, the section of the Rivers State House of Assembly that recently started the impeachment process against Governor Sim Fubara is scheduled to convene in plenary shortly.
The legislature was directed by the court to convene in plenary on Thursday while the motion on notice was being decided.
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In addition, the court prohibited the National Assembly from assuming control of the Assembly’s operations and stopped the Rivers State Government from withholding funding intended for it.
Additionally, the Rivers Government was prohibited from moving the clerk, deputy clerk, or any other employee nominated by the Assembly by the court ruled over by Justice J. K. Omotoso.
Leading by Speaker Martins Amaewhule, the legislators resisted attempts by the police to block them from entering the Assembly compound, where they were holding a farewell meeting for their departed colleague, Denobari Lolo.
In response to a lawsuit that the Assembly and the Speaker filed, the Abuja court imposed the restraining orders against the state government.
In the legal dispute, the following parties are named as defendants: the National Assembly; the Speaker of the House of Representatives; the Deputy Speaker; the Senate President; the Senate Majority Leader; and the Senate Minority Leader.
The Rivers State Governor, the Rivers State Attorney General, the Rivers Civil Service Commission, the Rivers State Commissioner for Finance, the Rivers State Clerk, and the Inspector General of Police are the others.
Justice Omotosho granted the plaintiffs’ requested remedy in his ruling on the motion.
The affidavit supporting the motion exparte, according to the court, indicated that 25 out of the 31 members, or more than two-thirds, were present and conducting business.
The Rivers State House of Assembly is a constitutional institution that must be maintained while the motion on notice is being decided, the court declared.
As a result, pending the hearing of the motion on notice for an interlocutory injunction dated and filed November 29, the court issued an order of interim injunction prohibiting the first through fourteenth defendants from assuming the roles, functions, or duties of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
A further order issued by the court prohibits the 11th through 14th defendants from withholding any amount that is due to the Rivers State House of Assembly’s credit in the consolidated revenue fund of Rivers State. This includes salaries and emoluments payable to the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, and other members of the first plaintiff, as well as to the Clerk, Deputy Clerk, and other staff members of the House, in any way that would deny the assembly the necessary funds to conduct its business unt
“The plaintiff/applicants are hereby ordered to enter to undertake as damages to the tune of N1bn if it is discovered or established that less than 25 members or two-thirds of the Rivers State House of Assembly are not sitting and transacting business as stated in the affidavit to support the motion,” the court said. “The above orders are made basically on the fact that the 25 members out of 31 Rivers State House of Assembly are sitting and transacting business.”
The court postponed further hearing till December 7 in a copy of an order signed by Blessing Ugwu, its Registrar.
According to Obasanjo News24, Edison Ehie, a former majority leader of the Rivers State House of Assembly, became the new factional Speaker of the state Assembly on October 30.
Fubara congratulated Edison on becoming speaker, but he also suspended a few house members and charged them with behaving immorally after attempts to remove the governor from office.
