A political analyst, Godspower Wolu, has stated that the main problem in the Rivers State political crisis is the misinterpretation of court rulings, where one group always tries to upturn and misrepresent every court ruling to favor them, wherein the deceptive inclination is only meant to give the public false information, pretending that all is well.
Wolu made this known at Rumukpirikom, in Obio/Akpo Local Government Area, in an interview with our reporter, stressing that it is unfortunate that the people assumed to be educated behave childishly and as laymen—people without understanding.
Wolu equally stated that another problem is conflicting judgments obtained from parallel courts in favor of their clients and where their political interests lie.
According to Wolu, the recent Supreme Court judgment of Monday, February 10, 2025, was grossly misinterpreted by those loyal to the FCT Minister Nyesom Wike to mean a ruling for Amaewhule and 26 others’ reinstatement as Rivers State lawmakers and the speakership seat, but they did not see it as a judgment on the appeal by Governor Sir Siminalayi Fubara and group stemming from a disputed 2024 State budget.
Wolu stressed that while the withdrawal of the case by Fubara and his lawyers was based on the fact that events had overtaken the 2024 budget case, Amaewhule and his group see it as a judgment in their favor, wherein it is seen as a confirmation of their legitimacy, with Amaewhule as the speaker and the 25 others as authentic lawmakers.
Analyzing the outcome of the Supreme Court judgment, the Human Rights Lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, stated that the Supreme Court didn’t decide on the Rivers Speaker, rather, the appeal dismissal was a merit ruling.
According to National Trust Reporters, the Attorney General of Rivers State, Dagogo Israel Iboroma (SAN), in clarifying the Supreme Court ruling, said that the Supreme Court didn’t reinstate embattled defected lawmakers, stressing that the 2024 budget is a forgone issue. He affirmed that the Monday, February 10, 2025, Supreme Court dismissal of the case between Governor Fubara vs. Martin Amaewhule and 26 others did not reinstate Amaewhule and co as Rivers State House of Assembly lawmakers. He said that he was in court for the case and the ruling of February 10, 2025, of case number SC/CV/1701/2024 between the Governor of Rivers State vs. Rivers State House of Assembly and 15 others, but wondered why the various interpretations and series of misinterpretations in the social and electronic media, grossly misinterpreted every part of the ruling.
