Rivers Govt Asserts Court Did Not Reinstate Amaewhule and 26 Others

The Rivers State Government has clarified that the court did not reinstate Amaewhule and 26 others, despite circulating reports suggesting otherwise.

The Rivers State Government has maintained that the Appeal Court ruling in Abuja on Thursday did not restore the Martin Amaewhule-led faction of the State House of Assembly.

In a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Thursday, the State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Dagogo Iboroma, SAN, clarified that Amaewhule and 26 others had switched allegiance on December 11th, 2023.

The argument was made that their seats were automatically vacated on the day they declared their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The Attorney General maintained that the matter concerning Amaewhule and 26 others switching parties was never presented before the Federal High Court or the Court of Appeal in Abuja. Consequently, no court has validated their membership in the House of Assembly due to this defection.

He expressed dissatisfaction with the judgment of the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division, and has instructed his lawyers to appeal this decision to the Supreme Court. Additionally, they will file an application for a stay of execution on the Court of Appeal’s judgment.

READ ALSO: Appeal Court Nullifies Rivers 2024 Budget Passed by Edison-Ehie Group”

Iboroma stated that under the operation of law, specifically Section 109(i)(g) of the amended 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Martin Amaewhule and 26 others automatically forfeited their seats in the Rivers State House of Assembly on December 11th, 2023. This occurred because Section 109(1)(g) is self-executing and does not require a court order for enforcement.

On December 13, 2023, His Excellency, the Governor of Rivers State, submitted the 2024 Appropriation Bill to the Rivers State House of Assembly. The assembly was headed by Rt. Hon. Edison Ehie as Speaker at that time. Eventually, this bill was enacted into law and became known as the Appropriation Law of 2024—a state legislation subject to jurisdiction by the High Court of Rivers State.

In the wake of the crisis in the Rivers State House of Assembly, and following a directive from the President of Nigeria for all parties to withdraw their court cases to allow peace to prevail, His Excellency, the Governor of Rivers State complied by withdrawing his legal actions and processes related to Suit No. FHC/ABJ/1613/CS/2023. However, Martin Amaewhule and others did not adhere to this presidential instruction; they proceeded without retracting Suit No. FHC/ABJ/1613/CS / 2023 achieving a judgment against His Excellency הộverrorsיr: token deprivedקאראַטער שיקו שערפעןstatu<|vq_6554|>

Following today’s Court of Appeal ruling, there has been widespread misinformation and misunderstanding suggesting that Martin Amaewhule and 26 others are still members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, with Martin Amaewhule serving as speaker. This is completely untrue.

The Federal High Court in Abuja and the Court of Appeal were not concerned with Martin Amaewhule’s defection along with 26 others. Instead, their focus was on the 2023 Appropriation Law and whether the National Assembly took over legislative functions from the Rivers State House of Assembly.