Human rights attorney Femi Falana has stated that the president cannot restore the 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly who crossed the carpet, amid the controversy surrounding President Bola Tinubu’s intervention in the situation roiling the state.
Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), stated in a statement on Tuesday that presidential interventions must always be based on the constitution’s provisions.
Falana declared, “In all material particulars, the presidential reinstatement of the 27 cross-carpeting members of the Rivers State House of Assembly by the Presidency is alien to the Constitution.”
For the past three months, Rivers State has been transformed into a ridiculous theatre, with the state House of Assembly acting as the “boxing ring.” A conflict between former governor Nyesom Wike and current governor Siminalayi Fubara caused MPs in the House to split, with 27 members of the PDP defecting to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), a party that Wike currently holds a ministership in.
Parallel sessions, a plot to remove the governor from office, the demolition of the Assembly building, and a wave of pro-Wike resignations from Fubara’s cabinet were all results of the rivalry.
At the Aso Villa in Abuja on Monday, the President had a meeting with Fubara and Wike.
Following the meeting on Monday, the President issued the following orders: the warring parties were to withdraw all cases filed in court by Fubara and his associates, and Martin Amaewhule should be acknowledged as the head of the Rivers State House of Assembly, rather than Edison Ehie.
According to reports, Amaewhule and his 26 friends were also welcomed back into the House as a result of the presidential order.
On the other hand, Falana stated, “The Speaker has officially declared the seats of the cross carpeting members vacant.” In light of this, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is compelled by law to hold the by-election as soon as the Federal High Court’s ex parte ruling from last Friday is overturned.
According to the senior attorney, lawmakers who support cross-carpeting can only hold onto their seats if they can demonstrate that the political party that supported them is split up into two or more groups.
“It is submitted that all actions taken by the Speaker (Ehie), recognised by the Rivers State High Court, remain valid, including his pronouncement on the vacant seats of the 27 cross carpeting members of the House, even if all the cases in the Federal High Court and the Rivers State High Court are withdrawn in accordance with the advice of the President.
Stated differently, the Speaker’s statement, which is based on section 109 of the Constitution, can only be invalidated by a court of law. Furthermore, a presidential directive cannot remove Speaker Ehie because he has not been removed by the necessary number of MPs, Falana said.
Adding that “the remaining members of the House are competent to conduct legislative business except the impeachment of the governor which can only be carried out by the two thirds of the entire members of the House,” the senior lawyer further requested that INEC hold a by-election to fill the 27 open seats.
