In another victory for the Rivers State Governor, Simi Fubara, over his former boss turned rival, Nyesom Wike, the Rivers State High Court has invalidated the amended Local Government Law enacted by the Martins Amaewhule faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
Fubara’s loyalists, Enyiada Cookey-Gam and six others had approached the court to challenge the decision of the Factional lawmakers for extending the tenure of local government chairmen in the state.
Following fierce disagreement between Fubara and Wike, which divided the assembly, loyal lawmakers to the FCT Minister enacted a law which extended the tenure of the LG chairmen and exercised their veto by making it a law which all the factional members voted yes to following the governor’s refusal to sign it into law.
But in a ruling delivered in a suit numbered PHC/1320/CS/2024, on Tuesday, the presiding judge, Justice D.G. Kio declared the amendment invalid.
The judge said the law is inconsistent with the 1999 Constitution and Section 9(1) of the Rivers State Local Government law No. 5 of 2018.
The judge in the ruling stressed that the applicable law governing the tenure of local government chairmen and councillors is the Rivers State Local Government Law No. 5 of 2018, stipulates a three-year tenure, no less, no more.
It declared that the attempt to extend their tenure through the enactment of the Local Government Law No. 2 of 2024 is unlawful and contrary to their oath of office.
It held that the primacy of constitutional principles in governance is supreme as the constitution which remains the ground norm cannot be sidestepped by selfish political gains.