Supreme Court Rules In Favour Of Rotimi Amaechi

The Supreme Court today set aside the decision of the Court of Appeal to grant former Rivers State Governor, Celestine Omehia, leave to appeal, as an interested party, a suit concerning the tenure of his successor, Governor Rotimi Amaechi.

In a unanimous decision, a panel of justices of the apex court held that the appellate court erred in granting the former governor leave to appeal in the suit, which centered on whether Amaechi’s tenure started on May 29, 2007, when Omehia was inaugurated, or on October 2007, when he (Amaechi) was sworn-in after Omehia’s removal by a decision of the Supreme Court.

The suit commenced in 2010 when a Peoples Democratic Party member, Cyprian Chukwu, headed for an Abuja Federal High Court to challenge the Independent National Electoral Commission’s timetable for the 2011 general elections, which scheduled the Rivers State governorship poll for August 2011.

Chukwu argued that since the Supreme Court had, in the judgment which removed Omehia and installed Amaechi, held that it was the PDP that won the April 2007 governorship election in Rivers State and not the candidate, Amaechi’s tenure ought to start counting from May 29, 2007, when Omehia was inaugurated, and not October 27, 2007 when he took the oath of office after Omehia’s sacking.

In its judgment, the Abuja FHC had held that although Amaechi took the oath of office on October 26, 2007, his initial tenure ended on May 28, 2011, adding that his tenure started counting on May 29, 2007 when Omehia was wrongly inaugurated.

Dissatisfied with the judgment, Amaechi headed for the Court of Appeal to challenge the Abuja FHC decision but Omehia  also approached the appellate court, asking for leave to appeal as an interested party in the matter.

Following the Court of Appeal’s decision to grant Omehia leave to appeal as an interested party, Amaechi again headed for the Supreme Court.

Amaechi asked the Supreme Court to set aside the leave granted Omehia by the Court of Appeal.

Delivering judgment in the matter on Friday, the Supreme Court upheld Amaechi’s arguments and set aside the decision of the Court of Appeal.

In the lead judgment, which was prepared by Justice Muhammed Muntaka-Coomasie, and read by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, the Supreme Court held that Omehia did not qualify to be recognised an interested party in the suit.

“The Court of Appeal was wrong in granting leave to Omehia to appeal the decision of the FHC without any locus standi or interest,” the court stated.

Omehia had claimed that he was an interested party in the suit because, according to him, the issue of Amaechi’s tenure arose from a judgment of the Supreme Court which concerned him.