Appeal Court Ruling: 27 defected lawmakers’ seats remain vacant – Rivers Govt

The Rivers State Government has refuted reports that a recent Court of Appeal ruling in Abuja reinstated the Martin Amaewhule-led faction of the State House of Assembly.

The government made it clear that these lawmakers no longer hold their positions in the Assembly.

In a statement on Thursday, the State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Israel Dagogo Iboroma, SAN, emphasized that Amaewhule and 26 other legislators forfeited their seats automatically upon their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) on December 11, 2023. Iboroma pointed out that the defection activated Section 109(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution, which requires lawmakers who change political parties to vacate their seats.

“The issue of defection of Martin Amaewhule and 26 others was never before the Federal High Court or the Court of Appeal. Therefore, no court has legitimized their membership of the House of Assembly following their defection,” Iboroma emphasized.

The Attorney General further explained that the case at the Federal High Court and the subsequent appeal concerned the 2023 Appropriation Law and the National Assembly’s intervention in Rivers State’s legislative functions, not the status of the defected lawmakers.

Following the dismissal of the state’s appeal regarding the 2023 Appropriation Law by the Court of Appeal, Iboroma criticized the misrepresentation of the ruling. “There is a wave of false reports suggesting that Amaewhule and the others remain in the Assembly with him as Speaker. This is patently untrue,” he stated.

The Attorney General also announced that the state government would appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court and file an application for a stay of execution to maintain the current status quo.

Governor Siminalayi Fubara, according to Iboroma, has urged the people of Rivers State to disregard any misleading reports regarding the court’s judgment and assured them that legal steps are being taken to resolve the matter.