Amaewhule-led Rivers Assembly Declare The Seat Of Pro-Fubara Lawmakers Vacant

Amidst the lingering political crises rocking Rivers State, the embattled Lawmakers loyal to FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, who are led by Rt Hon Martin Amaewhule as Speaker have declared the seats of four lawmakers loyal to Gov Sim Fubara vacant.

Martin Amaewhule made the declaration on Tuesday after a motion moved by the House Leader, Hon. Major Jack and co-sponsored by 25 other Members.

Tuesday’s seating follows a judgment by the Court of Appeal which affirmed the membership and speakership of the pro Wike lawmakers.

The four lawmakers whose seat were declared vacant are; Hon. Edison Ogerenye Ehie, Hon. Victor Oko Jombo, Hon. Adolphus Timothy Oruibienimigha and Hon. Sokari Goodboy Sokari, representing Ahoada East II, Bonny, Opobo/Nkoro and Ahoada West Constituency respectively.

In the storm of the crises at the Rivers State House of Assembly, Edison Ehie had emerged as parallel Speaker with three other lawmakers loyal to Governor Sim Fubara. After a botched attempt to impeach Gov Fubara, Ehie later resigned from the House and was appointed as Gov Fubara’s Chief of Staff. The Lawmakers in the camp of Gov Fubara subsequently elected Rt Hon Victor Oko-Jumbo as their Speaker.

Didactic Information Hut recalls that upon the fa tionalisation of the Assembly and the subsequent defection of over 24 members loyal to the FCT Minister, the then Speaker, Edison Ehie had declared their seats vacant.

But the embattled made a turn-around against their public defections and are still claiming to be members of the PDP instead of the APC.

But the pro Wike embattled Lawmakers said their action was “in compliance with the combined provisions Section of 109 (1)(e),(f) and Section 109 (2) of the 1999 Constitution as altered, the Rivers State House of Assembly on Tuesday”.

They said the action was due to ” their continued refusal or failure to attend and participate in Legislative meetings of the House, without just cause for a period amounting in aggregate, to more than one-third of the total number of days the House met in the First Session of the Tenth Assembly and for also being absent in the past fifty -six legislative sittings of the Second Session.”

A statement signed by Martins Wachukwu,
Special Assistant On Media To The Speaker, Rivers State House of Assembly, said, “Debating the Motion, Members spoke in unison in support of the Motion, and sympathized with the constituents of those Constituencies whose voices have been drowned in the House for about one year because of the abdication of legislative duties by their representatives.

Commenting on the Motion, the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Martin Chike Amaewhule, recalled that after the peace parley that was held at the instance of the President, the House withdrew its impeachment notice on the Governor and also recalled the four suspended Members, yet they have obstinately refused to attend sittings of the House.

When the Speaker put the question, the House voted in the affirmative that the seats of the 4 Members be declared vacant, and the Independent National Electoral Commission be notified to conduct elections to fill the vacancies.”

During the session, Rt. Hon. Amaewhule also reiterated that given the fact the Court of Appeal upheld all the injunctive orders given by the Federal High Court, Governor Siminialayi Fubara is again enjoined to present the 2024 Appropriate Bill to the House.

Meanwhile, Gov Fubara had vowed not to represent the 2024 budget since according to Him it’s already a law and that he was already finalizing work on the 2025 budget to present it to the Oko-Jumbo faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly.