Chairman of Emohua Local Government Area in Rivers State, Dr. Chidi Lloyd, has hailed the judgement of the State High Court that declared the 27 lawmakers led by Speaker Martins Amaewhule as members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and House of Assembly.
Lloyd said the judgement would subsist and that a ruling of a court of competent jurisdiction could not be dismissed by mere press briefings of the state government.
He said: “The judgement was delivered today. So only the state government cannot be right. Lawyers, parties were in court to hear the judgement. The attorney-general dismissed the judgement of the court of competent jurisdiction as rumour, let’s see how far it goes.
” Press briefings cannot substitute appeal. When the judgement does not come in your favour, the best thing to do is to appeal”.
Delving into the ruling of the court, Lloyd said: “The court gave judgement and said that at all material times Martins Amaewhule is the Speaker and that the Oko Jumbo and two others, who were suspended members of the assembly cannot constitute the business of the House. Those are the snippets of the judgement.
“The PDP joined the matter. Recall that the PDP asked to be joined by the court and the court joined the PDP. The PDP said it was not aware that the fellows left the party”
Lloyd, who spoke to the Nation, said the court declaration was in order adding that the complainants failed to provide tangible evidence to show that the lawmakers really defected from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He said: “That is the difference in law. Rasing the flag of a party does not make you a member of the party. If Nigeria is playing against Cameron and South Africans raise the flag of Nigeria, does that confer citizenship on the South Africans?
“The law is not done with emotion. The way to prove membership of a political party is that your name must be inscribed in the register and that you must carry a card. Those who went to court were unable to tell the court that. The lawmakers did not take further steps after verbally declaring they were members of the APC”.
He said the judge’s ruling that the government must obey all the laws passed by the Martins Amaewhule-led Assembly meant that local government chairmen would not vacate office on June 17 following the tenure elongation law passed by the Assembly.
He said: “The judge went further to say because Martins Amaewhule had not vacated his seat, that any law passed by then must be obeyed by the Rivers State Government.
“What it means that the local government amendment Law which is one of the laws passed by the assembly must be obeyed by the government and I am also to obey it by staying in office after June 17. No Jupiter will stop it”.
(The Nation)
