The political crisis in Rivers State took another turn on Tuesday after the Martins Amaewhule-led Rivers State House of Assembly declared vacant the seats of four lawmakers loyal to Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
The affected lawmakers are Hon. Edison Ogerenye Ehie, Hon. Victor Oko Jombo, Hon. Adolphus Timothy Oruibienimigha, and Hon. Sokari Goodboy Sokari, who represent Ahoada East II, Bonny, Opobo/Nkoro, and Ahoada West constituencies.
Ehie, now the Chief of Staff, Government House, Port Harcourt, resigned as a member of the House of Assembly and factional Speaker on December 31, 2023.
LEADERSHIP recalls that the court of appeal in Abuja had recently declared the pro-Wike Martins Amaewhule-led House of Assembly as the valid one for Rivers State.
In the ongoing political tussle between Rivers State Governor Fubara and his predecessor and political mentor, Barrister Nyesom Wike, the FCT minister, 28 members of the House faction publicly announced their defection to the All Progressives Congress but beat a retreat when they realized they could lose their seats in the state legislature after the remaining four loyal to Fubara declared their seat vacant.
On Tuesday, the decision of the House followed a motion moved by the House Leader, Hon. Major Jack, and co-sponsored by 25 other members to the effect that the seats of these four members be declared vacant for their continued refusal, or failure, to attend and participate in legislative meetings of the House without cause for a period amounting, in the aggregate, to more than one-third of the total number of days the House met in the First Session of the Tenth Assembly.
The four have also been absent in the past 56 legislative sittings of the Second Session.
Debating the motion, members spoke in unison in support of the motion. They sympathised with the constituents of those constituencies whose voices have been drowned in the House for about one year because their representatives abdicated legislative duties.
Commenting on the motion, the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Martins Amaewhule recalled that after the peace parley held at President Tinubu’s instance, the House withdrew its impeachment notice on the governor and recalled the four suspended members. Yet, they had obstinately refused to attend House sittings.
When the Speaker asked the question, the House voted in the affirmative that the seats of the four members be declared vacant and that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) be notified to conduct elections to fill the vacancies.
Amaewhule further stated that given the Court of Appeal’s upholding of all the injunctive orders of the Federal High Court, Governor Siminialayi Fubara is again enjoined to present the 2024 Appropriate Bill to the House.
Earlier, the House Leader, Hon. Major Jack, had informed the House that he received the judgement of the Court of Appeal, which upheld the judgement of Justice Omotosho of the Federal High Court, which recognised the authenticity of the Rivers State House of Assembly under the Speakership of Martin Amaewhule, which was appealed against by the governor.
