Wike Disbands Special Court of Appeal After Ruling in Favor of Rivers State LGA Elections
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, Nyesom Wike, currently embroiled in a political feud with his former protégé and Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has reportedly ordered the quiet dissolution of a Special Court of Appeal panel in the FCT. This panel had recently delivered a ruling favorable to Governor Fubara regarding the Rivers State local government elections.
According to Fusion Chronicles Nigeria, the panel was discreetly disbanded after it upheld the validity of the local government elections conducted under Fubara’s administration. Previously, the Court of Appeal in Abuja overturned a Federal High Court ruling that had prohibited the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from releasing the voter register to the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) for conducting the elections.
The appellate court, led by Justice Onyekachi Otisi, ruled on Thursday that the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the case. The panel further clarified that Section 28 of the Electoral Act applies exclusively to federal elections, governorship polls, and area council elections in the FCT, thereby excluding state-conducted local government elections.
In a related matter, Governor Fubara had approached the Court of Appeal in Abuja to challenge a Federal High Court order that barred the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from disbursing monthly allocations to Rivers State. Represented by his legal team, led by Yusuf Ali, SAN, the governor petitioned the appellate court to set aside the lower court’s ruling, describing it as unjust and issued in bad faith.
Fubara urged the court to allow his appeal, identified as CA/ABJ/CV/1303/2024, and to nullify the adverse orders issued by Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court on October 30. The Federal High Court had previously compelled the CBN to withhold the state’s monthly allocations until further notice. Governor Fubara argued that such an order was detrimental to the state’s governance and financial stability.
