The RIVERS State House of Assembly members loyal to the state Governor Siminalayi Fubara have insisted on a bye-election to fill the vacant seats in the House.
They took the decision on Friday, July 5, despite the Court of Appeal ruling that nullified the expulsion of the former Speaker, Martin Amaewhule, and 24 others.
The group, led by the factional speaker, Victor Oko-Jumbo, said it would challenge the the Appeal Court’s decision on the Assembly crisis.
They called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to promptly conduct a bye-election to fill the vacant seats in the House.
Oko-Jumbo in his opening remark said the splinter lawmakers believed that the Appeal Court erred in its decision.
He added that the Court of Appeal erred when it held that the Rivers State High Court lacked the jurisdiction to hear and determine the case on the conflict involving two factional groups at the House.
“The Court of Appeal did not make any declaration that Martin Amaewhule and 24 ORS did not defect from the PDP to APC.
“The Court of Appeal also did not make any declaration that Martin Amaewhule and 24 ORS are still members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
“Accordingly, we have instructed our lawyers and they have filed an appeal to the Supreme Court of Nigeria, challenging the judgement of the Court of Appeal delivered on the 4th Day of July 2024,” Oko-Jumbo stated.
Following Fubara’s executive order in December 2023, the four-member legislators have been meeting at the Government House in Port Harcourt as a temporary chamber..
The Court of Appeal, Abuja, had on Thursday, July 4, nullified the expulsion of Amaewhule and 24 others from the Rivers State House of Assembly by the Rivers State High Court.
In the appeal, marked CA/PH/198/2024, the lawmakers who were sacked by a High Court judgement urged the appellate court to stay the execution of the court judgement.
They further prayed to the appellate court to invalidate all the legislative actions that have been taken by the Jumbo-led Rivers State House of Assembly.
The lawmakers, who won their elections on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) on December 11, 2023, announced their defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC) shortly after their inauguration.
Thereafter, the Rivers Assembly, led by the former Speaker, Edison Ehie, on December 13, declared their seats vacant, following to their defection.
The lawmakers are widely believed to be loyal to the state’s immediate past governor and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
Wike and Fubara have been at loggerheads over who controls the PDP structure in the state.
Though a PDP member, Wike serves in the government formed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the national level.
In its ruling on Thursday, the three-member panel of the Appeal Court, headed by Jimi Olukayode-Bada, held that the High Court lacked the jurisdiction to consider the suit, adding that such matters could only be heard and determined by a federal high court.
The court, therefore, invalidated all the restraining orders that were issued against the litigants by the high court.
A reporter with the ICIR
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