The Rivers State Government has asserted that the recent Court of Appeal ruling in Abuja did not reinstate the faction led by Martin Amaewhule in the State House of Assembly, reaffirming that the seats of Amaewhule and 26 other lawmakers remain vacant following their defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In a statement released on Thursday, Israel Dagogo Iboroma, the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Rivers State, clarified that the lawmakers automatically vacated their positions when they defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC on December 11, 2023. He explained that their defection invoked Section 109(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution, which stipulates that lawmakers who change political parties must lose their seats.
“The matter of Martin Amaewhule and the other 26 lawmakers’ defection was never before the Federal High Court or the Court of Appeal, and no court has validated their membership in the House of Assembly since their defection,” Iboroma stated, dismissing claims that the legislators were still members of the Assembly.
Iboroma went on to clarify that the legal case before the Federal High Court and the subsequent appeal focused on the 2023 Appropriation Law and the intervention of the National Assembly in Rivers State legislative matters, not the status of the defected lawmakers.
Following the Court of Appeal’s dismissal of Rivers State’s appeal concerning the Appropriation Law, Iboroma criticized widespread misinterpretations of the judgment. He denounced false reports that suggested Amaewhule and his colleagues were still in the Assembly, with Amaewhule allegedly continuing as Speaker.
“There is a misleading narrative claiming that Amaewhule and the other defected lawmakers remain in the Assembly with him as Speaker. This is entirely false,” Iboroma emphasized.
The Attorney General announced that the state government plans to appeal the Court of Appeal’s decision at the Supreme Court. He also stated that they would be filing an application for a stay of execution to maintain the current situation, ensuring that the vacated seats remain unfilled until the Supreme Court rules on the matter.
Governor Siminalayi Fubara, through the Attorney General, called on the people of Rivers State to ignore any inaccurate reports concerning the court’s judgment. He assured them that all necessary legal actions are being taken to resolve the issue and ensure the rule of law is upheld.
