The Rivers State House of Assembly faction, loyal to Governor Siminalayi Fubara, has appealed to the Supreme Court to contest the Court of Appeal’s ruling on the case involving 25 lawmakers who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
During a plenary session at their temporary legislative facility in Port Harcourt, Factional Speaker Rt. Hon. Victor Oko-Jumbo announced the appeal. He stated, “The Assembly strongly believes that the Court of Appeal was in error when it held that the Rivers State High Court lacked the jurisdiction to hear and determine SUIT NO. PHC/1512/CS/2024.”
Oko-Jumbo, asserting his role as the legitimate speaker, emphasized that Rivers State cannot have two Houses of Assembly. He reiterated that the seats of Rt. Hon. Martin Amaewhule and 24 other former lawmakers remain vacant as declared by then Speaker Rt. Hon. Edison Ehie on December 13, 2023, following their defection from the PDP to the APC on December 11, 2023.
He further explained that legitimate members of the Rivers State House of Assembly had secured a restraining order against Martin Amaewhule and the 24 others, preventing them from continuing to parade as members of the Assembly despite their defection. Dissatisfied with the Rivers State High Court’s ruling in Suit No. PHC/1512/CS/2024, Martin Amaewhule and the 24 others filed an appeal (No. CA/PH/198/2024) at the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt Division.
