The Rivers State Government has clarified that the recent Court of Appeal judgment in Abuja did not reinstate the faction of the State House of Assembly led by Martin Amaewhule, dispelling claims that the faction’s members remain part of the Assembly.
In a statement released on Thursday by the State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Israel Dagogo Iboroma, SAN, the government emphasized that Amaewhule and 26 other lawmakers automatically vacated their seats following their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) on December 11, 2023. According to Iboroma, their defection triggered the application of Section 109(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution, which stipulates that legislators who switch political parties must forfeit their seats.
Iboroma made it clear that the defection of Amaewhule and the 26 others was never an issue brought before either the Federal High Court or the Court of Appeal, and no judicial body has legitimized their membership in the House of Assembly after their defection. He further clarified that the case at the Federal High Court, as well as the subsequent appeal, were concerned with the 2023 Appropriation Law and the National Assembly’s involvement in Rivers State’s legislative affairs, not the status of the defected lawmakers.
Following the dismissal of the state’s appeal regarding the 2023 Appropriation Law by the Court of Appeal, Iboroma criticized the spread of misinformation about the ruling. “There are numerous false reports circulating that suggest Amaewhule and the others remain members of the Assembly, with Amaewhule as Speaker. This is completely untrue,” he stressed.
Iboroma also revealed that the Rivers State Government plans to appeal the judgment to the Supreme Court and will file an application for a stay of execution to maintain the current situation until the case is resolved.
Governor Siminalayi Fubara, as conveyed by Iboroma, has urged the people of Rivers State to disregard any misleading reports concerning the court’s decision and assured them that the government is taking legal action to resolve the issue.
