…As House of Assembly factions pass different resolutions
Battle is now raging over the control of the bank accounts of the Rivers State government, soon after the Supreme Court ruling seemed to cut off access to the local governments’ funds from state governors.
Resort to financial strangulation began when both the Nyesom Wike camp and the Sim Fubara camp failed to gain control of the 23 local council headquarters, with the police sealing off all secretariats.
The Wike-backed House had a few days ago passed a solution giving the governor seven days ultimatum to represent the N800billion budget to them after the appeal court verdict that both camps claimed favoured each of them.
Last Monday, the House faction loyal to Wike which is led by Martin Amaewhule as speaker ordered all banks to stop honoring the governor’s financial instruments. This thus, seeks to shut down all expenditures of the Rivers State governor until Governor Fubara would present his budget before them.
The Leader of their faction of the House, Major Jack, raised the motion informing the House about the expiration of the seven-day ultimatum given to the governor to present the 2024 budget before the House.
After deliberation, the House voted to shut down the Rivers State Consolidated Revenue Account thus, preventing Governor Fubara’s administration from spending any money on behalf of the state.
Edison Ehie and the lawmakers had then passed the budget estimates which Fubara later signed into law.
The faction loyal to Fubara, led by their own speaker, Victor Oko-Jumbo, declared the resolution as ‘unfounded’ and recalled thus: “On 11 day of December, 2023, at the 87th Legislative sitting of the House, former Speaker, Martin Amaewhule and the 24 former members defected from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“By virtue of section 109(1)(g) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution which are self executing, and consequent upon their defection, on the 13th day of December, 2023, Rt. Hon. Edison Ogerenye Ehie, DSSRS, Esq, PhD, as the then duly recognised Speaker of the 10th Rivers State House of Assembly, by virtue of a court order granted by Hon. Justice Danagogo on the 12th Day of December, 2023 in Suit No. PHC/3030/CS/2023, and pursuant to section 109(2) of the 1999 Constitution, declared their seats vacant.
“Consequent to the above Constitutional provisions and the declaration of their seats vacant, the recognised 10th Rivers State House of Assembly is the one led by Rt. Hon. Victor Oko-Jumbo. Thus, the Rivers State Government has ceased paying any form of salaries, allowances or statutory remunerations to the former members.”
The Oko-Jumbo camp reminded those concerned that Governor Sim Fubara presented the 2024 Appropriation Bill to the Rivers State House of Assembly, under the leadership of the then speaker, Edison Ogerenye Ehie, and that it was duly passed on the 13th Day of December, 2023 and assented to on the 14th Day of December, 2023.”
The factional House thus, called upon the general public to disregard and ignore the order of the Amaewhule camp and rather called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to expedite preparations towards the conduct of a bye-election to fill the vacant seats created in the Rivers State House of Assembly by the defection of Martin Amaewhule and 24 others.
The resolution was also copied all those that handle the state’s finances including CBN, chairman, Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation & Fiscal Commission, Abuja, Accountant-General of the Federation, Group Managing Director/CEO Zenith Bank PLC, and the Managing Director/ CEO, Access Bank Group.
It is not clear who these institutions would obey, but going by the way things are going, it may be rough road for all parties.
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