Opposition lawmakers declare that pro-Wike members of Rivers Assembly have lost their seats
A coalition of opposition lawmakers has firmly stated that 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly who are loyal to Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike have lost their seats.
In a statement released on Friday, the federal legislators, led by their spokesperson Ikenga Ugochinyere, declared that the former Speaker, Martin Amaewhule, and his 27 fellow lawmakers were officially sacked and should cease presenting themselves as members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
The lawmakers maintained that the seats of the 27 former members became vacant after they defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC). According to the opposition, their defection occurred despite the absence of any significant crisis within the PDP to justify such a move. They further argued that courts, including the Supreme Court, had ratified their removal from office.
“The level of desperation for political survival and greed for public funds have driven the pro-Wike group to act as a political nuisance in Rivers State,” the opposition lawmakers stated. “While it is clear that their benefactor can no longer sustain their financial and political ambitions, Martin Amaewhule and his 27 sacked lawmakers must accept that they remain removed from office and stop impersonating members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.”
The opposition lawmakers also criticized the former members for what they described as a waste of public funds on press conferences aimed at denying their defection and misinterpreting the Supreme Court’s ruling. They emphasized that the Supreme Court had never ruled on the legitimacy of the lawmakers after they defected from the PDP to the APC.
“They decamped on their own on the floor of the House of Assembly, swore an affidavit in court to support their defection, and were publicly received by APC at a rally where they were handed the APC flag,” they noted. “Now, after failing to achieve their political goals, they are trying to deny their documented defection. No amount of press conferences will change the fact that the pro-Wike lawmakers remain sacked unless the Supreme Court rules otherwise.”
The opposition also addressed the recent ruling of the Supreme Court, which had dismissed the appeal filed by Rivers State Governor Sim Fubara, who had challenged the former leadership of the state assembly under Amaewhule. They clarified that the judgment followed Fubara’s withdrawal of the appeal, based on the fact that “events had overtaken the suit.”
As the legal matter appears to have been settled, the opposition lawmakers reaffirmed that Hon. Oko Jumbo remains the rightful Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, and that the sacked pro-Wike lawmakers, including Amaewhule, remain out of office.
