The Rivers State Government has insisted that the Appeal Court judgment in Abuja on Thursday, October 10, did not reinstate the Martin Amaewhule-led faction of the State House of Assembly.
In a statement signed by the State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Dagogo Iboroma, SAN, the state government clarified that Amaewhule and 26 others had defected on December 11, 2023and that their seats became automatically vacant from the day they announced their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The Attorney General insisted that the issue of the defection of Amaewhule and 26 others was never before the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal, Abuja, and therefore, no court has legitimised their membership of the House of Assembly on the basis of the defection.
He said dissatisfied with the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, the Governor has directed his lawyers to file an appeal against the judgment of the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court, and also file an application for a stay of execution of the judgment of the Court of Appeal.
“By operation of Law, particularly Section 109(i) (g) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), Martin Amaewhule and 26 others automatically lost their seats as members of the Rivers State House of Assembly on the 11th day of December 2023, as Section 109(1)(g) is self executory as no court order is required thereof.
His Excellency, the Governor of Rivers State on the 13th day of December, 2023, presented the 2024 Appropriation Bill to the Rivers State House of Assembly, led by Rt. Hon. Edison Ehie, who was recognized as the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly at the time. The Appropriation Bill was later passed into Law and became the Appropriation Law of 2024. An Appropriation Law is a state law within the purview of the High Court of Rivers State.
Following the crisis in the Rivers State House of Assembly and the intervention by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, that the parties withdraw their cases in Court, to allow peace to reign, His Excellency the Governor of Rivers State obeyed the President’s directive and withdrew his cases and the processes he filed in Suit No FHC/ABJ/1613/CS/2023. Martin Amaewhule and others disobeyed the President and did not withdraw Suit No. FHC/ABJ/1613/CS/2023 and proceeded to obtain judgment against His Excellency, the Governor of Rivers State.
After the judgment of the Court of Appeal today, there is a gale of misrepresentation and misinterpretation that Martin Amaewhule & 26 others remain members of the Rivers State House of Assembly with Martin Amaewhule as the speaker thereof. This is patently false.
The defection of Martin Amaewhule and 26 others was not an issue for determination in the Federal High Court, Abuja and the Court of Appeal. What was in issue was the 2023 Appropriation Law and the National Assembly taking over the Legislative functions of the Rivers State House of Assembly.”
IB had reported on Thursday that tThe Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal brought before it by Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara seeking to remove 27 members of the State House of Assembly on account of their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The Abuja Division of the Appeal Court held that Fubara has no basis to file the appeal having withdrawn his opposition to the case of the pro-Wike lawmakers at the Federal High Court. Justice Olubunmi Oyewole, who delivered the lead judgment held that the governor, having withdrawn from the case cannot claim to be aggrieved with the judgment of the federal high court.
The Court of Appeal then barred Fubara from intervening with the affairs of the House of Assembly and also barred him from withholding the House of Assembly fund and removing the Clerk and Deputy Clerk from the House.
Also, the Court of Appeal ordered him to re-present the budget of the State to the House under the recognised Speaker Martins Amaewhule as contained in the judgment of Justice James Omotosho of the federal high court.
