By Damilare Adeleye
A Federal High Court sitting Abuja has voided the N800 billion budget passed by the Edison Ehie-led faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly and signed into law by Governor Siminalayi Fubara of the state.
This is as Justice James of the Federal High Court also upheld the suit filed by the Assembly and Speaker Martin Amaewhule against Fubara, which sought an order of injunction restraining the governor from intervening into matters of the Assembly under his leadership as speaker, among others.
Recall that on December 13, 2023, in the heat of the protracted political crisis rocking the state and the demolition of the Assembly Complex, Fubara presented the 2024 budget proposal of N800bn to five members of the State Assembly led by former factional Speaker Edison Ehie, who would later resign from the House.
The presentation was done at the Government House in Port Harcourt, following the demolition of the Assembly Complex by the state government and after a court restrained Ehie’s contender, Martins Amaewhule, from using the Assembly Complex.
Ehie and the other pro-Fubara lawmakers passed the budget estimates and the governor subsequently signed the bill into law, saying it is aimed at promoting economic development through inclusive growth and addressing socio-economic inequality in the state.