The political tension in Rivers State may be temporarily doused with Governor Siminalayi Fubara securing an exparte order of a Rivers state High Court, Isiokpo Judicial Division, stopping further actions by the House of Assembly to impeach him, Theliberationnews authoritatively gathered.
The Presiding Judge, O. Ben-Whyte, who granted the motion exparte in a suit filed by Fubara, ordered the parties to maintain status quo pending the determination of the substantive case.
The judge, in a copy of the order, said: “Upon this motion, exparte coming up before this honourable court for hearing and determination and after reading the supporting affidavit of Siminalayi Fubara filed on the 31st day of October 2023 at the High Court Registry, Isiokpo and having listened to the submission of D.O. Okoro, SAN with I. Mac-Barango of counsel for the claimant/applicant hereby ordered as follows:
“That the parties, in this case, maintain the status quo in the case by not doing anything in furtherance of the purported impeachment of the applicant as the governor of Rivers State pending the determination of the motion on notice”
The judge adjourned the matter to November 14 for argument of the motion on notice.
Theliberationnews further gathered that the suit named Fubara as the claimant and listed the defendants as Rivers State House of Assembly, Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Clerk of the House and Chief Judge of Rivers State.
Meanwhile, Fubara’s predecessor in office and now estranged godfather, Nyesom Wike, has vowed not to back down on his power tussle with the governor.
Speaking after the governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and the party’s National Working Committee, NWC, met over the crisis in Abuja on Tuesday, Wike insisted that the fight would continue even if heaven falls.
Wike said, “You know I will not agree. If heaven will come down, let heaven come down so that everybody will be at rest.
“Anybody who knows me knows too well: what I’ll never take is threat. You know I will not agree. If heaven will come down, let heaven come down so that everybody will be at rest.
“Let’s do things right. He said they should bring N20 billion every month; that’s politics. But nobody said this when I was fighting. If you like, accuse me.”
Fubara’s move to abort the impeachment process and Wike’s raging anger are coming on the heels of reported intervention of President Bola Tinubu in the tussle.
