The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has praised the judiciary for its boldness in standing firm against what he described as “impunity” in Rivers State.
Mr Wike made the commendation in Abuja on Friday while reacting to the Supreme Court’s judgment on the constitution of the Rivers State House of Assembly and the legality of the state’s 2024 local government elections.
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The Supreme Court on Friday affirmed the Rivers State House of Assembly led by Martin Amaewhule as the authentic and legally constituted legislative body in the state.
The court also ruled that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Accountant-General of the Federation must halt further release of budgetary allocations to Rivers State until a valid Appropriation Act is passed by a legally constituted House of Assembly.
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Also, the Supreme Court overturned the previous ruling of the Court of Appeal, which had held that the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction over cases related to Rivers State funds.
The court further nullified the local government elections conducted in Rivers on 5 October 2024, stating that they violated relevant laws.
Mr Wike said, “We must commend the judiciary for being bold and for being firm to say that this impunity will not be allowed to continue in Rivers.
“I have always said that the wheel of justice is sluggish, but it will come when it will come. We are happy that after more than 15 months, the matter has been finally put to rest.
“We are not just happy; we are happy that the right thing has been done”.
The minister pointed out that it was unheard of for “three people [to] constitute an assembly to make laws and appropriation for the entire state.
“It is unheard of.
“We must not truncate our democracy. If you allow this, one day, one member will constitute an assembly in this country.
“Things must be done correctly for our democracy to grow,” he said.
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Mr Wike stated that the state government had spent the 2024 budget without proper legislative approval and had also appointed commissioners without the backing of the state’s legislature.
According to him, these actions are “impeachable offences” but advised lawmakers against taking such a course.
He expressed joy that the apex court had made it clear that “you cannot have a government without a legislature”.
He also commended the Supreme Court for nullifying the state’s local government elections, citing the state’s electoral body’s disregard to relevant laws.
(NAN)
