Martin Amaewhule-led faction of the Rivers House of Assembly has issued an ultimatum to Governor Siminalayi Fubara, demanding the presentation of the 2025 appropriation bill within 48 hours.
Gatekeepers News reports that this request was made during a plenary session held on Monday.
Earlier, in January 2025, Governor Fubara signed the 2025 appropriation bill into law after it was passed by the Victor Oko-Jumbo-led faction of the assembly. Fubara approved the bill just 72 hours after it was presented to the four lawmakers.
The Rivers legislature has experienced significant polarization due to a rift between Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, and Governor Fubara, with the Amaewhule faction aligning itself with Wike. This plenary session marked the first meeting for the faction following a recent Supreme Court ruling.
The Supreme Court upheld a judgment from a federal high court that prohibited the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Accountant-General of the Federation from disbursing statutory monthly allocations to Rivers State.
In the ruling, Justice Emmanuel Agim affirmed that the 27 lawmakers who allegedly defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) remain valid members of the Rivers House of Assembly until the final resolution of a legal challenge to their status.
“Any other set of individuals purporting to be members of the Rivers state house of assembly led by any other person except Martins Amaewhule is a nullity and their actions null and void,” Agim had ruled.
The judgments handed the Wike faction an advantage in the political crisis in the state.
