A Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt has fixed Thursday, October 2, for judgment in the case challenging the removal of members of the Rivers State Local Government Service Commission.
The suit was instituted by Reverend Goodlife Iduoku Ben, Amadi Christian Echele, Chimenem Wisdom Jerome, and three others.
They were appointed into the Commission by Governor Siminalayi Fubara but later dismissed by the then Sole Administrator, Ibok-Ete Ibas.
According to the aggrieved officials, they insisted their removal was illegal. They maintain that their appointments were duly confirmed by the Rivers State House of Assembly before they received letters from the governor.
In their affidavit, they stressed that “the Sole Administrator lacked the legal authority to suspend them and appoint a new Chairman and members of the Local Government Service Commission.”
During earlier hearings, the trial judge, Justice Frank Onyiri, had stopped Ibas from inaugurating another team of Commission members. The court also ordered that the status quo remain until the matter is decided.
On Monday, the judge shifted judgment delivery, saying he needed more time.
The defendants include Ibas, the Rivers State government, the Accountant-General, two commercial banks, and others.
