president Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been urged to intervene in the lingering political crisis in Rivers State, which is threatening to derail the country’s democracy.
Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), made this call in a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Friday.
Eze maintained that, according to the law, Martin Amaewhule and 26 other lawmakers who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC are no longer members of the Rivers State House of Assembly. “By the provision of Section 109(i) (g) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), Martin Amaewhule and 26 other Lawmakers having defected, automatically lost their seats as members of the Rivers State House of Assembly on the 11th day of December, 2023,” Eze stated.
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The APC chieftain attributed the ongoing crisis in Rivers State to the actions of some politicians who are using the judiciary to exert power and might. This comes after the Court of Appeal in Abuja dismissed an appeal filed by Governor Siminalaye Fubara, challenging a previous judgment that reinstated Amaewhule as Speaker of the state Assembly.
In January, Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court nullified the 2024 Rivers State Budget passed by pro-Fubara lawmakers after 27 PDP lawmakers defected to the APC. The court ordered Governor Fubara to re-present the budget to the House of Assembly under Amaewhule and 26 other defected lawmakers.
Eze emphasized the need to correct the misconception that Amaewhule and the 26 defected lawmakers remain members of the Rivers State House of Assembly. He argued that their defection on December 11, 2023, automatically vacated their seats, citing Section 109(1)(g) of the Constitution.
This development follows President Tinubu’s previous intervention in the Rivers State crisis, where he mediated a peace meeting between warring factions.
The opposition party, PDP, has insisted that the defectors’ seats are vacant and that they cannot return to the House without a fresh electoral process.