Fubara's Suspension: Tinubu Again Dragged to Court

• President Bola Tinubu has been dragged to court over the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State
• Marshall Stanley-Uwom, the former deputy speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, filed the suit before the Federal High Court in Abuja
• President Tinubu had declared a state of emergency following a long political rift between suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike

FCT, Abuja - Rt. Hon. Marshall Stanley-Uwom, a former deputy speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, has filed a suit before the Federal High Court in Abuja to compel the President Bola Tinubu-led federal government to stop paying the allocation of the local governments in the state to the sole administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (Rtd).

Stanley-Uwom served as a lawmaker when Tinubu's Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, was serving as the governor of the oil-rich state. He urged the court to declare that Ibas did not have the legal standing to appoint unelected officials to manage the affairs of the local governments in Rivers State.

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Why ex-dep speaker dragged Tinubu to court

The plaintiff had cited section 7(1) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, and the Supreme Court judgment, which barred the payment of local government allocation to states where council chairmen have not been properly elected.

He was also asking the court to declare that the state of emergency that President Tinubu proclaimed ceased to have effect. He also prayed to the court to order the 7th Defendant (Ibas) to vacate the office of the sole administrator with immediate effect and allow the democratically elected governor of Rivers to return to his position.

Others dragged to court with Tinubu

While President Tinubu was cited as the first defendant in the suit, the applicant also listed the 2nd to 10th defendants in the suit. These included the National Assembly, the Senate, the Senate President, the House of Representatives, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Vice Admiral Ibas, Rtd; the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN); the Accountant General of the Federation; and the Federation Account Allocation Committee.

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The former lawmaker had filed the suit through his lawyers led by Sylvester I. Evbuomwan. The plaintiff told the court that he is a prince of the Agba Royal Family of Abua, and the Adibaal Abuan 1 of Abua, in Abua-Odual LGA of Rivers State.

President Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers following a long-standing political crisis between suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor, Wike. The president subsequently appointed Ibas as the sole administrator for the state for an initial six months.

Amaechi speaks on Fubara's suspension

Legit.ng earlier reported that Rotimi Amaechi, former Rivers governor, has insisted that President Bola Tinubu violated the law with the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers.

Amaechi also faulted the National Assembly, adding that the weakness of the legislature made Tinubu's action effective.

The former minister, who was not happy with the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, claimed that the Senate was a weak institution that supported Tinubu's illegality.

Source: Legit.ng