The Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has assured corps members that his administration’s first agenda is prioritising peace and prosperity of the citizens, including topnotch welfare provision for corps members.

Fubara stated this at the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp, Nonwa-Gbam, Tai Local Government Area (LGA) in his address to corps members in the 2026 Batch B, Stream 1 orientation course posted to the state.

The governer represented by the Permanent Secretary, Special Services Bureau, Office of the Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Samson Dede, assured them of his administration’s unwavering commitment to support the scheme’s operations in the state.

“I urge you to take the skill acquisition training very seriously as well as participate actively in all camp activities and programmes,”

The Rivers State NYSC Coordinator, Mr. Moses Oleghe advised the corps members to see their posting to Rivers as a rare privilege and the best opportunity for self-discovery and improvement.

Oleghe appreciated the governor for donating of 2,500 mattresses for corps members usage, noting that the state is now the preferred destination of corps members nationwide.

“I appreciate the people of the state, security agencies, leaders of the host communities, transport union executives among other critical stakeholders for their unwavering support to the NYSC and corps members,”.

A total of 3, 512 corps members made up of , 572 males and 1,940 females were sworn in at the ceremony by the Chief Judge of Rivers State, represented by Justice Prince Mini.

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has picked former Rivers State Governor and former Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, as its vice-presidential candidate for the 2027 general election, pairing him with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on what party leaders describe as a “unity and rescue ticket.”

Announcing the decision, ADC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said Amaechi’s emergence followed broad consultations within the party and reflected his strong performance as runner-up in the party’s presidential primaries as well as his track records of service to his State and the country.

According to the ADC, Amaechi’s extensive experience across both the legislative and executive arms of government, as former Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, two-term Governor of Rivers State, and former Minister of Transportation, makes him uniquely qualified to complement Atiku’s leadership, strengthen the party’s national appeal, and bolster its campaign to offer Nigerians an experienced and credible alternative ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

The full statement read:

The National Leadership of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), after extensive consultations with party leaders, coalition partners, youth and women stakeholders, and representatives of all geopolitical zones, is proud to announce that the Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has been selected as the Vice-Presidential Candidate of our great party for the 2027 Presidential Election.

This recommendation follows the successful conclusion of the ADC Presidential Primaries, in which Rt. Hon. Amaechi emerged as the runner-up, earning widespread support from party members across the federation and demonstrating his enduring appeal as one of Nigeria’s most experienced and respected political leaders.

The proposed partnership between His Excellency Atiku Abubakar and Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi represents more than a political alliance; it is the coming together of two tested statesmen with the experience, national reach, and leadership capacity required to rescue Nigeria from its current challenges and reposition the country for a new era of prosperity, security, and inclusive development.

Rt. Hon. Amaechi brings to this ticket one of the most comprehensive public service records in contemporary Nigerian politics. His experience spans all major pillars of democratic governance. He served with distinction as Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, making him one of the longest-serving legislative leaders in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic.

He subsequently served two terms as Governor of Rivers State, where he oversaw significant investments in infrastructure, education, healthcare, and public sector reforms.

At the national level, he served as Minister of Transportation, leading some of the most ambitious transportation and rail modernization initiatives in Nigeria’s history.

Few political leaders in Nigeria today possess such extensive and balanced experience across both the legislative and executive arms of government. This depth of experience will be invaluable in supporting the next ADC administration from day one.

Beyond his impressive credentials, Rt. Hon. Amaechi strengthens the ticket strategically. His political influence across the South-South and wider Southern Nigeria, his reputation as a reform-minded administrator, and his proven ability to build coalitions across political, ethnic, and regional lines make him uniquely positioned to complement the candidacy of Atiku Abubakar.

Together, Atiku Abubakar and Rotimi Amaechi embody a truly national ticket—one that bridges regions, generations, and political traditions. Their combined experience in governance, economic management, public administration, party organization, and nation-building offers Nigerians a credible and compelling alternative capable of restoring confidence in government and accelerating national development.

At a time when millions of Nigerians are demanding competent leadership, economic revival, job creation, security, and national unity, the Atiku-Amaechi ticket sends a clear message: the ADC is prepared to govern, prepared to unite the nation, and prepared to deliver results.

The leadership of the ADC is confident that this partnership will energize our growing coalition, inspire hope among Nigerians, and provide the leadership necessary to build a stronger, safer, and more prosperous Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The ADC therefore calls on all party members, coalition partners, civil society organizations, youth groups, women leaders, and Nigerians of goodwill to join us as we embark on this historic journey to renew our nation and secure a better future for generations to come.

Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara has pulled out of the APC governorship primaries ahead of the 2027 elections, saying peace and unity in the state matter more than personal ambition.

Fubara Explains Reason for Withdrawal

In a statement he personally signed on Wednesday, Fubara said he reached the decision after deep reflection and consultations with family members, friends, and political associates.

Furthermore, the governor described the move as difficult but necessary. He stressed that leadership sometimes requires sacrifice and putting the interest of the people first.

“Leadership is ultimately about sacrifice. There comes a time when personal ambition must yield to the greater good of the people,” he stated.

He added that Rivers State remains bigger than any individual and said the state’s peace, stability and unity must come before personal interests.

Governor Assures Supporters, Reaffirms APC Loyalty

Meanwhile, Fubara assured supporters that he remains committed to the APC and will support whoever emerges as the party’s governorship candidate.

Furthermore, he thanked supporters for their loyalty and sacrifices throughout the political process. He also admitted that many of them could feel disappointed by his decision.

“I understand the disappointment, the anger, and the pain many of you may feel,” he said.

Fubara Hints at Political Pressure

However, the governor suggested that unseen political factors influenced the contest, although he refused to reveal details.

“As our elders say, not everything a hunter sees in the forest is spoken of in the marketplace,” he stated.

In response, Fubara thanked President Bola Tinubu for what he described as support and encouragement during the process.

He also urged APC members and supporters to remain united and committed to the party’s future.

Consequently, Fubara insisted that people should not see his withdrawal as fear, weakness or surrender. He maintained that he made the decision for the sake of peace and promised to continue serving Rivers people until the end of his tenure.

The development comes as political alignments and internal contests continue to shape APC activities in Rivers State ahead of the governorship primaries.

External Links

• Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)
• All Progressives Congress (APC)
• Rivers State Government

A civil society organization, the Centre for Social and Economic Rights (CSER) has applauded President Bola Tinubu for terminating the 6 months suspension of democratic structures in Rivers State with the restoration of democratic governance on September 18, 2025.

Nelson Ekujumi, the group’s executive director in a statement, commended President Bola Tinubu for his responsibility to his oath of office in upholding the provisions of the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria by suspending democratic governance in Rivers State for 6 months at the first instance through the declaration of a state of emergency on the 18th of March 2025, and thus averted a breakdown of law and order and the attendant threat to democracy and national security.

According to CSER, “President Tinubu must be highly commended for being a responsive and responsible leader in preventing the degeneration of the political crisis in Rivers State into a national economic crisis by his timely declaration of emergency rule for 6 months in line with constitutional provisions and thus laid the template for peace, law and order to return to the state and necessitated the restoration of democratic governance on the 18th of September 2025”.

The group also praised the former sole administrator of Rivers State Vice Admiral Ibok Ete Ibas (Rtd.) for his sterling administrative capacity and capability in rallying the people of the state for peace, law and order in the discharge of his constitutional mandate for the 6 months that he was in the saddle.

Accordingly, the group noted that “Vice Admiral Ibok Ete Ibas (Rtd.) has performed his responsibility as sole administrator of Rivers State creditably by restoring peace, law and order to the beleaguered state which was not the case before his assumption into office”. The organization while thanking the retired military chief for his service to the nation even in retirement from military duties, wished him well.

The civil society organization while celebrating and congratulating the good people of Rivers State on the restoration of democratic governance today 18th September 2025, with the resumption into office of Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the state legislature, used the occasion to urge the Governor to imbibe the lessons of the past 6 months of emergency rule and not repeat his dictatorial, lawless assault on democracy and the constitution actions of the past, by upholding the provisions of the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria in line with his oath, through recognition and respect for the three arms of government in our democracy.

CSER also commended the good people of Rivers State for their patience and perseverance in weathering the storm of political/economic crisis inflicted on the state by the political class which was averted from degenerating into a total breakdown of law and order by the declaration of a state of emergency for 6 months by Mr President in line with his powers and the provisions of the constitution of Nigeria.

The group appreciated the people of Rivers State for keeping faith with democracy by remaining calm, peaceful, law abiding and supportive of the sole administrator throughout the tenure of the state of emergency despite the provocation and incitement by agents of destabilization and anti democratic elements who do not wish Rivers State and Nigeria well.

As democratic governance is restored to Rivers State today 18th September 2025, CSER hereby call on the political stakeholders and people of Rivers State to put the past behind and work together to make the collective interest of the state for peace, order, progress and prosperity top of their agenda in our democratic journey.

E-signed,
Nelson Ekujumi.

The House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the political situation in Rivers State has begun a long-anticipated session with the state’s Sole Administrator, retired Vice Admiral Ibok Ete Ibas, behind closed doors.

The meeting, which had been postponed multiple times, comes as the House exercises its constitutional powers to take over the legislative functions of the Rivers State House of Assembly, following heightened tensions and governance disruptions in the state.

Mr Ibas, who was appointed by President Bola Tinubu in March following the suspension of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, appeared before the committee for the first time.

In his remarks, he apologised for his earlier absence and requested more time to adequately prepare a comprehensive briefing.

He said he is still settling down in the new role, appealing for understanding and patience from the lawmakers.

Shortly after his plea, members of the press were asked to leave the room, and the session proceeded behind closed doors.

The Sole Administrator was earlier scheduled to meet with the committee on Thursday but failed to appear.

By Chidi Anselm Odinkalu

IN Nigeria, history tends to repeat itself with unerring accuracy and in tiresome syntax. When he wrote his Report on the Amalgamation of Northern and Southern Nigeria and Administration in 1919, Frederick Lugard described Nigeria as an “anomaly…. of a country with aggregate revenue practically equal to its needs, but divided into two by an arbitrary line of latitude.” While one portion was fiscally viable, he suggested, the other “was dependent on a grant paid by the British taxpayer.” Through the Amalgamation in 1914, Lugard created a Customs Union in which extraction could be sustained by administering mechanisms of fiscal compensation to smooth over these disparities.

From the get-go, the invention of Nigeria was about the exploitation of resources and property. Rivers State is at the centre of these resources. Towards this goal, the powers of government have historically been mobilised. More than 111 years after the Amalgamation, this raison d’être of the Nigerian estate remains resilient. It is both evident and explicit in the machinations that have now eventuated in the declaration of a state of emergency over Rivers State.

When he addressed the country on 18 March 2025 to proclaim a state of emergency in Rivers State, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Nigeria’s president, claimed that he acted on “security reports made available to [him]” showing “disturbing incidents of vandalization of pipelines by some militant without the governor taking any action to curtail them.” Importantly, he had not bothered to speak to the State Governor to hear his own side of the story, nor did he indicate that any humans had been injured or killed.

Security reports in such situations are provided by the State Security Service (SSS). It is currently headed as Director-General by Oluwatosin Ajayi, whose stint as State Director of Security (SDS) in Rivers State coincided with the tenure as governor of Nyesom Wike, a principal belligerent in the political conflict in the State.

As a result, the President continued, “no good and responsible President will standby and allow the grave situation to continue without taking remedial steps prescribed by the Constitution to address the situation in the state, which no doubt requires extraordinary measures to restore good governance, peace, order and security.”

These words were not new. When he moved the motion in the federal parliament on 29 May 1962 for the declaration of a state of emergency in the old Western Region, Prime Minister, Abubakar Tafawa-Balewa uttered the original version of the same sentence. After rendering his version of the events in the regional parliament in Ibadan the previous week, the Prime Minister declared: “No responsible Government of the Federation could allow an explosive situation such as that which now exists in Western Nigeria to continue without taking adequate measures to ensure that there is an early return to the Region of peace, order and good Government.”

Then in the Western Region, as today in Rivers State, there was a political dispute between a predecessor and his successor, both of them of the same party. The predecessor was Chief Obafemi Awolowo, leader of the Action Group, who had transitioned from the office of regional Premier to being leader of the Opposition in the federal parliament. His successor as Premier was Ladoke Akintola. Although both lawyers, these men had fundamental differences of both provenance and ideology. Awolowo was Ijebu from the south of Yoruba-land. Akintola, who grew up in Northern Nigeria, was from Ogbomosho in the north of Yoruba-land. Ideologically, Akintola’s politics tended towards conservative populism; Awolowo was more towards democratic socialism.

In May 1962, the National Executive Committee of the Action group resolved to request Akintola to resign as both deputy leader to Chief Awolowo in the party and as premier of the Western Region. Rival factions emerged in the party claiming a majority in the regional parliament. Akintola sought to have the parliament convened for the purpose of procuring a vote of confidence on his government. Both the regional governor and the Speaker of the parliament rebuffed his overtures. Instead, outside the parliament, some party officials led by Bola Ige, secured the signatures of a majority of elected members withdrawing support from Akintola’s administration.

The party presented these signatures to the Governor, Oba Adesoji Aderemi, then the Ooni of Ife who thereafter invited Alhaji Dauda Adegbenro to form a new government as regional Premier. Attempts to re-convene the regional parliament ended in fracas. As recalled by Chief Awolowo, “one Mr. Oke, a supporter of Chief Akintola, a Member from Ogbomosho, jumped on the desk and was running about on the desk and then lifted a chair and struck somebody on the head. That is how it started, and then thereafter one Mr. Ebubedike, the Member for Badagry, who lives in Ajeromi, took the Mace and then in an attempt to strike the Speaker with the Mace, the Mace struck the table and broke into two.”

On receiving notification of the governor’s decision removing him and designating Alhaji Adegbenro as regional premier on 21 May 1962, Akintola began proceedings at the High Court of the Western Region. The Chief Justice of the Region – they were called Chief Justice then – Samuel Okai Quashie-Idun, had acted as Chief Justice of Ghana under the government of Kwame Nkrumah. He headed to Nigeria after resigning from Ghana’s judiciary in 1958 over disagreements with the Nkrumah government in the first flush of post-colonial authoritarianism. In 1960, Quashie-Idun became Chief Justice of the Western Region in succession to Robert Yorke Hedges. As Chief Justice, he was said to enjoy the support and patronage of Premier Akintola.

The expectation of Akintola was reportedly that the Chief Justice would afford him expedited hearing and a favourable verdict, handing him under colour of law the boost he needed in this battle of his political life. Instead, Chief Justice Quashie-Idun decided to distil the legal issues and, rather than rule on them, transmitted those to the then Federal Supreme Court for decision. The case eventually travelled up to the Privy Council where Akintola lost the legal dispute. It is said that a disappointed Ladoke Akintola withdrew patronage from Quashie-Idun and their relationship never recovered. The following year, Quashie-Idun left the judiciary of the Western Region to East Africa, becoming the President of the East African Court of Appeal, where he died in 1966.

It is thought that Quashie-Idun tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to recover the relationship. In June 1963, he dismissed the action by Alhaji Adegbenro of the Action Group seeking to invalidate the appointment of Odeleye Fadahunsi as regional governor, and denied Adegbenro leave to appeal to the Federal Supreme Court.

The disagreement between Quashie-Idun and Akintola was in reality unbridgeable. As Chief Justice, he saw a legal dispute which deserved judicial dispassion. For Akintola, it was a political dispute in which the role of the judiciary was to serve as his instrument. In 1962, Quashie-Idun chose to stick with his judicial brief. Today in Nigeria, judges at the highest levels have chosen to discard judicial robes and purchase sides in the political dispute in Rivers State, becoming shamefully complicit in instrumentalizing the highest courts for a proverbial mess of political pottage.

When he addressed the country this past week, therefore, the President was not content with merely plagiarising Tafawa-Balewa; he found comfort in the partisanship of a wilful judiciary.

On 28th of February, the Supreme Court restrained the Central Bank from releasing the federal allocations of Rivers State until the State House of Assembly had passed a lawful budget. In his address declaring the state of emergency, the president said his newly appointed military administrator in Rivers State would not be able to make any laws. In effect, he could not pass a budget to implement the Supreme Court judgment.

Yet, the day after he was installed, the Central Bank released the withheld allocation to the military administrator. On the same day, the National Assembly approved the emergency proclamation on an unlikely voice vote after what was reported to be a splurge of money to sweeten that outcome. If the statutory allocation of Rivers State was used to purchase an emergency proclamation over the state, it is entirely in keeping with the project originated by Frederick Lugard to preserve Nigeria as a proposition in extractive anomaly.

A lawyer and a teacher, Odinkalu can be reached at chidi.odinkalu@tufts.edu

The Rivers State Government says its case to challenge the leadership of the State House of Assembly and the membership of the members who defected in December 2023 is still before the Supreme Court.

Edison Ehie, the Chief of Staff to Gov. Siminalayi Fubara, made this known in a Facebook post.

He said that the Supreme Court decision on Monday, February 10, 2025 was about the Appeal Court Judgement that Fubara should re-present the 2024 budget before the Martins Amaewhule-led Assembly.

He said that since the 2024 budget had been spent, Fubara ought to withdraw his appeal against the judgment because it would be a mere academic exercise to dwell on the matter.

“This appeal SC/CV/1071/ 2024: GOV of Rivers State v Rivers State House of Assembly & Ors that came up today at the Supreme Court has become purely academic.

“The case leading to this appeal was before James Omotosho as SUIT NO. FHC/ABJ/CS/1613/2023. It was filed on the 29th day of November 2023.

“SUIT NO. FHC/ABJ/CS/1613/2023 pertains to the 2024 budget, which is no longer alive, the monies appropriated therein having been judiciously spent for the benefit of the good people of Rivers State.

“The 2024 budget became spent on the 31st December of the 2024 fiscal year
The appeal is of no useful purpose in this year 2025, which has its budget.
The only reasonable thing left to do in the circumstances was to withdraw the appeal and have it dismissed,” he said.

He noted, “It would be most unwise to labour the Honourable Court with academic appeals without any practical or utilitarian value.

“It is important to note that after Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1613/2023 was filed on 29th November 2023, Martin Chike and his 26 friends defected from PDP to APC on the 11th Day of December 2023. Their seats in the Rivers State House of Assembly became vacant.

“This appeal that was withdrawn today has nothing to do with the seats of Martin Chike Amaewhule and his 26 friends in the Rivers State House of Assembly. The members of the public should not be taken in by the misleading propaganda by Martin Chike Amaewhule and his 26 friends.”

By Chidi Anselm Odinkalu

The 10th of February 2025 promises to be a day of Proxy Wars at the Supreme Court of Nigeria in Abuja. On that day, a panel of five Justices will take arguments on seven appeals connected with the synthetic political crisis in Rivers State.

The issues in dispute include the validity of last October’s local government elections in the state, the fate of a faction in the Rivers State House of Assembly which claims to have switched affiliation from the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), on whose platform the members were elected, to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC); the legality of the state’s 2025 budget passed by the rump of the same House of Assembly, and the effort to importune judges into denying Rivers State access to its share of the Federation Account.

The effort to frame these as legal issues is transparently valiant. Despite the shameful conversion of judges into politicians in the Rivers State crisis – or indeed, because of precisely that fact – the imminence of Rivers State Proxy Wars Day at the Supreme Court is evidence of what has gone wrong with Nigeria’s judicial system and why fixing it is essential for the health of Nigeria’s attempt at government with electoral legitimacy.

This is not the first time that legal disputes about power and how to share the spoils from it have ended up at the highest court in the land. That tendency in Nigeria is over a century old and arguably, goes back to the 1921 judgment of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in the case of Amodu Tijani, over the effort by the colonial authorities to split Herbert Heelas Macaulay from his support for Eshugbayi Eleko, the Oba of Lagos.

For the hearing of the cases before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in 1920, Herbert Macaulay travelled to London with the Oba’s Staff of Office in support of Amodu Tijani and the Idejo Chiefs of Lagos. From London, he issued a statement claiming that the Eleko was the King of over 17 million Nigerians and in possession of a territory, more than three times the size of Great Britain. Despite a healthy revenue of over £4 million, he claimed the British had reneged on a treaty commitment to compensate the Eleko.

Embarrassed at being publicly called duplicitous in this way, the British required the Eleko to disown Herbert Macaulay. He issued a public statement clarifying his position on Herbert Macaulay’s statement but declined to disown him through the Oba’s Bell Ringers, as the Brits required.

Unable to secure the support of the popular Eleko, the colonialists chose to head off the rising tension by deposing him. On 6 August 1925, they issued an ordinance de-stooling him and, two days later, on 8 August, they arrested and removed the Eleko into internal banishment in Oyo. In his place, they installed Oba Ibikunle Akitoye.

Oba Akitoye’s rule lasted an uncomfortably brief three years, largely because he lacked the support of the people of Lagos. Indeed, in 1926, he suffered a physical assault by his people. Supported by the elite and people of Lagos, the deposed Eleko took his case to the courts, all the way once more to the Privy Council, which decided on 19 June 1928 in favour of his claim for leave for a writ of habeas corpus. This, all but sealed the fate of Oba Akitoye, who was suspected to have facilitated his earthly demise shortly thereafter.

The crisis in Rivers State shares some unsettling similarities with the events in Lagos nearly one century ago. In Rivers today, as in Lagos then, a powerful man – in this case, the current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and immediate past governor of Rivers State Nyesom Wike – seeks to banish the current governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, from office using surrogates beholden to him in the state House of Assembly.

However, there is one important difference – the issues in Rivers State today hardly involve principle or the public interest. Though framed in legalese, the cases are about power and money grabs. This is not a first. It appears to be the standard procedure of the former state governor and the current FCT Minister Mr Wike to seek to inveigle judges into acting as his political surrogates under a ruse of law.

In instigating this crisis, Mr Wike suffered a characteristic failure of his frontal lobe and either ignored or forgot his public vow to “give himself that respect” and not interfere in the affairs of the state after his exit from the office in May 2023. Rather, since leaving office as the state governor, Mr Wike has sought to install himself as both the Minister in Abuja and Sole Administrator in Port Harcourt, capital of Rivers state. He makes no effort to conceal the fact that much of what passes as his political dare-devilry appears to be accomplished under the influence of sufficiently gluttonous amounts of dangerous beverage, which entitles him access to defence, of automatism in criminal law.

In October 2024, the former governor told Seun Okinbaloye of Channels Television with undisguised hubris that the only solution to the crisis in Rivers State was for the incumbent governor to “obey court judgment.” This was no advocate for the rule of law, however. Instead, Mr Wike projected an air of political impregnability purchased with a currency bearing a distinct whiff of procured judicial crookery.

This is not entirely unexpected of an ambitious Nigerian politician without an alternative address (apologies to Deji Adeyanju). What is more difficult to overlook is the high judicial tolerance for the undisguised political importuning of judges.

Nigeria’s judicial system has been overtaken by a category known as “political cases.” In November 2023, former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Olukayode Ariwoola, reported that the Supreme Court under him registered 1,271 motions and appeals from 12 September 2022 to 11 July 2023, out of this, the court “heard 388 political appeals, 215 criminal appeals and 464 civil appeals.” Two years earlier, in 2021, Ariwoola’s predecessor, Justice Tanko Muhammad, reported that the court’s portfolio of 269 appeals disposed of, included 139 civil appeals, 102 criminal appeals, and 28 “political cases”.

According to CJN Ariwoola’s report, the court “delivered a total number of 251 judgments, of which 125 were political appeals, 81 were civil appeals, and 45 were criminal appeals.” In just two years the court’s output fell by 6.69% but “political cases” rose from 10.67% to 49.8%. Even allowing for the fact that 2023 was an election year, this is a system collapse.

Nigerian judges would appear to have decided that politicians are the only people entitled to exit from the courts. In turn, the politicians are happy to enjoy this exclusivity and to overwhelm the courts to the point that even judges now complain. They hire the priciest lawyers to frame undisguised power and money grabs as questions of law.

The Supreme Court can end this but feigns reluctance to. Rather, it affords powerful politicians the tolerance that they are unwilling to extend to lesser mortals, preferring instead to enable this joint enterprise of senior lawyers and politicians while fettering its capacity to determine what should be a question of law deserving of its rarefied attention.

This sucks for many reasons. It prostitutes the bench; casualises the constitutional guarantee of fair trial “within a reasonable time”; and portrays the judiciary as captured.

To describe this as Supreme pusillanimity is to be generous. It is a form of judicial lasciviousness syndrome, promenading judicial wares before political gawkers in a peonage system where the only effective currency is high political patronage. In the Rivers State cases, the Supreme Court still has an opportunity to make a bold statement. But if it fails, it should be ready for many more proxy war days.

Odinkalu is a lawyer and teacher.

The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday nullified the presentation and passage of Rivers State 2024 Budget by a group of four member legislators in the State, which it tagged unlawful.

In a judgment delivered by the High Court judge, James Omotoso, the Court ordered the governor of the State, Siminalaye Fubara to re-present the budget to the legally constituted House of Assembly under Speaker Martin Amaewhule.

In addition, the court ordered the Inspector General of Police to ensure that the Speaker and other lawmakers in the Rivers State Assembly have proper security, and also prohibited governor Fubara from proceeding with the demolition of the Rivers State Assembly building.

On the redeployment of the Clerk and Deputy Clerk of the State Assembly done by the Governor, the Court declared it null and void as only the Speaker, as enshrined in the State Assembly Service Commission, is empowered to appoint or redeploy.

The National Assembly was also barred from taking over the Rivers State House of Assembly or accepting or treating any request from the Governor to do so.

Governor Fubara was also ordered to release all monies standing in the credit of the House of Assembly to Martin Amaewhule, who the Court deems as the lawful Speaker of the Rivers State Assembly.

Dr Edison Ehie, the factional Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, has resigned both as speaker and member of the House.

The resignation letter of Ehie, the factional Speaker loyal to Governor Siminalayi Fubara, was effective from December 29, 2023 as contained in a letter signed by him.

The letter, a copy of which was obtained by Persecondnews, was addressed to the Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.

Persecondnews quotes from the letter as follows:”This is to inform you of my voluntary resignation as Speaker and member of the 10th River State House of Assembly representing Ahoada- East Constituency II with effect from the date of this letter (29th, December 2023).

“I wish to deeply appreciate my colleagues and the people of my Constituency for the rare opportunity to serve and hope to continue to give my utmost best in service to River State subsequently.

“Kindly accept the assurance es of my highest esteem at all times.”

The speaker’s resignation may be a fall-out from the peace pact brokered by President Bola Tinubu following his intervention in the political crisis that engulfed the state.

Both parties to the crisis led by FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike and Gov. Siminalayi Fubara signed the resolutions.