THE Rivers state government has begun the demolition of the State House of Assembly building on Moscow Road, Port Harcourt City local government area, amid the ongoing political turmoil in the state.
According to reports, the demolition, which is still ongoing, commenced at about 7:30 a.m., with several bulldozers and other heavy-duty equipment sighted at the location.
The latest development comes two days after 27 out of the 32 members of the state House of Assembly defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
It is also coming a few weeks after unknown persons burnt the Assembly Complex.
The ICIR reports that fire engulfed the complex on Sunday, October 29, around 10 p.m and was subsequently quenched by the Fire Service and security agents who prevented it from consuming the entire complex.
Some members of the Assembly believed to be loyal of the state’s immediate past governor and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) initiated impeachment action against the governor a day after the inferno.
The Majority Leader Ehie Edison, known to be the Fubara’s ally, was removed in the botched attempt to impeach the governor, while Fubara was also accused of masterminding the inferno as part of efforts to frustrate his impeachment.
The former Assembly leader Ehie was subsequently elected Speaker in October by a faction of the House after the attempt to impeach Fubara failed.
On Tuesday, December 12, the state high Court in Port Harcourt confirmed Ehie as the authentic speaker of the state’s House of Assembly.
The presiding judge, M.W Danagogo, ordered Martin Amaewhule and Dumle Maol, who claim to be the House leaders, to refrain from parading themselves or meddling with Ehie’s duties as speaker of the state House of Assembly.
The court also warned against forceful entry into the Assembly Complex using thugs or Police.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: umustapha@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M