Extra-budgetary spending: Group takes Rivers Govt to court

…The lawyer is ill-informed—Wike

Barth Ndubuwah,Port Harcourt

A group known as CLUB-401 has taken the Rivers   State Government to court over what it calls illegal spending as shown in the building of multi-million Naira homes built for Judges in the State by the Wike led administration.

The group in the suit filed at the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt seeks the court to pronounce that  the action of the Governor was a bad precedent because it violates the Principle of Separation of Powers as enshrined in the  1999 Constitution of Nigeria.

Club 401 also questioned the purchase of vehicles for members of the National Assembly, the building of hostels and auditorium for the Nigerian Law School in Bayelsa State, the building of quarters and offices of Federal establishments and hosting of conferences for professional organizations; all with Rivers State funds.

The suit is also asking the Court to make declarations that Governor Nyesom Wike should stop spending funds that are not appropriated for in the budget on the things that have no economic value for Rivers State.

The suit reads in part that; “the Court should make a declaration that the principles of Separation of Powers and Rule of Law as provided in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, it is not within the powers of the Governor of Rivers State to build houses for retiring or retired Chief Judges and Presidents of the Customary Court of Appeal of Rivers State outside the budget of the Judiciary as contained in a duly approved Appropriation Law of Rivers State and contrary to all extant Laws for the benefit of retired judicial officers in Nigeria and public officers in Rivers State such as the Pension Rights Judges Act.

Given the Federal system of government established under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, “A declaration that in view of the Stateral system of government established under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, it is ulta vires for the Governor and Government of Rivers State to build structures with State funds in other States other than for use as liaison office or as investment for economic profit.”

Attorney General of Rivers State, Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly and the Council of Legal Education of Nigeria are all defendants in the matter.

The suit is yet to be slated for hearing.

In September, 2020, Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike had handed over some finished blocks of duplexes to accommodate Judges in the state.

Governor Wike also announced that N150 million has also been handed to Judges who opted for cash payments to build their own houses.

Reacting to the suit Governor Wike described the lawyers that embarked upon the case as uninformed.

According to him, it is the responsibility of government to provide enabling environment for dispensation of Justice in the State and beyond.

Wike queried how it will look like if the roof of a court is leaking and a judge is supposed to stay under the rain to deliver judgement.

“The  legal profession is part of the problem stalling the process of justice administration in the country because of the activities of some misinformed lawyers.

“These misinformed lawyers politicize issues of justice administration and sometimes resort to legal battles without a clear understanding of the position of the law on such matters.

“An ill-informed lawyer who does not have a grasp of how budgets function and what the role of government is in creating conducive environment for administration of justice,  had dragged the State Government to court over its supports to the judiciary.

“Just this morning the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice came to me that one lawyer in Port Harcourt went to court against the State Government. He said we have no business in building houses for judges, we have no business providing cars for judges.

“He said we have no business in building courts for federal institutions and that I have no right to even contribute to the structures in Nigeria law School.

“What will be our contribution to the administration of justice, when the structures are dilapidated.  That lawyer is saying that what we are doing is not budgeted for.  Everybody parades as if they know the law even when they don’t know the law.

“People who are ignorant about budget will just wake up in the morning and tell you the governor has no right to donate money somewhere. They make all kinds of allegations without having the true facts,” Wike chided the lawyer.

Governor Wike explained that his administration was compelled to renovate the Court of Appeal and Federal High Courts in Port Harcourt because their dilapidated structures were hampering the seamless administration of justice in the State.

“As lawyers, you saw how the Court of Appeal of Nigeria was. Tell me how any Justice of the Court of Appeal will seat comfortably to preside over cases when it will be raining, and then the rain will fall on them.

When the government comes up to say this administration of justice that you are giving, to whose interest? Is it to the people of Rivers State and those who do business here?

And if we are interested in moving things forward and offer support to make such place comfortable, a lawyer will come out and tell people that all those things we are doing are illegal,” the governor said.