GoldenNewsNg gathered that the Rivers State House of assembly has issued a warrant of arrest against the chairman of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC), Justice Adolphus Enebeli. As reported on Monday, March 10, by Leadership, this follows Enebeli’s alleged refusal to appear before the house.
Martins Amaewhule-led house had, during its plenary on Monday, issued the arrest warrant after the expiration of its 72-hour ultimatum for Enebeli to appear before the house. Amaewhule is an ally of Nyesom Wike, the federal capital territory (FCT) minister. RSIEC had fixed August 9, 2025, to conduct a fresh local government election in the state following a Supreme Court verdict that annulled the October 5, 2024, LG polls conducted in the state.
In the election, the Action Peoples Party (APP) was declared the winner of 22 chairmanship seats out of the 23 local government areas of the states.
Meanwhile, Supreme Court Document has Explained Why Governor Fubara is at Fault
The Supreme Court has expressed that there was no government in Rivers state without the 27 lawmakers who are allegedly loyal to the immediate past governor of the state and the current minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike. This was disclosed in a Certified True Copy (CTC) of the Supreme Court judgment on the political crisis, where the court upheld the Martin Amaewhule-led lead .
Supreme Court tells Fubara his mistakes According to the document, a government cannot be said to exist if one of the three arms of government as stated in the 1999 Constitution is not in place. It further stated that Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s administration deliberately collapsed the legislature so that he could govern the state like a despot.
The statement reads in part:
“In this case, the Executive arm of the Government has chosen to collapse the Legislature to enable him govern without the Legislature as a despot. As it is there is no government in Rivers State.”
Channels TV reported that the apex court explained that Governor Fubara cannot invoke the doctrine of necessity to “justify the continued existence of a deliberately contrived illegal or unconstitutional status quo.”
The document, which was signed by Justice Emmanuel Agim, explained that the governor cannot use the doctrine to protect and justify illegal actions and despotic rules of the state without the House of Assembly in place.
No evidence Rivers lawmakers decamped to APC
It stressed that there was no evidence that the lawmakers had left the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state and joined the All Progressives Congress (APC) as Governor Fubara had claimed.
The judgment, which was delivered on Friday, February 28, 2025, noted that the fear that the House of Assembly would impeach the governor was not a justification to attack the legislature, constitution, Rivers state government, and the rule of law.
Also, it maintained that the political disagreement was not a ground for contempt of court and the rule of law by the governor or any individual. The CTC explained that Governor Fubara has only destroyed the government over fear of being impeached.
