Rivers Crisis: Pro-Wike lawmakers’ seats remain vacant, Fubara insists

Rivers State Government said it is filing an appeal at the Supreme Court.

Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State said the Appeal Court judgement did not reinstate the pro-Wike lawmakers whose seats were declared vacant in the Rivers House of Assembly.

The appellate court in Abuja on Thursday affirmed the trial court’s judgement voiding Rivers State’s N800 billion 2024 budget.

Mr Fubara presented the budget to a four-member Rivers Assembly last December after the seats of the pro-Wike lawmakers were declared vacant following their defection from the PDP to the APC.

The four-member assembly led by Edison Ehie considered the budget, passed it, and Governor Fubara assented to it within 24 hours.

The pro-Wike lawmakers challenged the legitimacy of the budget and eventually got a Federal High Court in Abuja to void it in January.

Dissatisfied with the trial court verdict, Mr Fubara appealed the judgement. A three-member panel of the Appeal Court, led by Joseph Oyewole, affirmed the trial court decision on the budget.

Court didn’t reinstate pro-Wike lawmakers – Rivers State Govt

The appellate court also stated that the pro-Wike lawmakers led by Martin Amaewhule as the speaker is the only House of Assembly known by law.

However, Rivers State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Dagogo Iboroma, in a statement on Thursday, said the issue of defection was not before the court for determination.

Governor Fubara’s spokesperson, Chukwudi Nelson, forwarded the statement to PREMIUM TIMES.

Mr Iboroma, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, maintained that the seats of the pro-Wike lawmakers automatically became vacant the moment they defected on 11 December.

“By operation of Law, particularly Section 109(i) (g) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), Martin Amaewhule and 26 others automatically lost their seats as members of the Rivers State House of Assembly on the 11th day of December 2023, as Section 109(1)(g) is self-executory as no court order is required thereof,” Mr Iboroma argued.

Mr Iboroma said that Governor Fubara had directed his lawyers to file an appeal at the Supreme Court against the Court of Appeal’s judgement and an application for a stay of execution of the judgement. That maintains the status quo.

Two factions in the House

The Rivers Assembly has been enmeshed in a political crisis after some lawmakers backed by Mr Fubara’s predecessor, Nyesom Wike, the FCT minister, attempted to impeach Governor Fubara on 30 October 2023.

The crisis split the lawmakers into two factions: the faction loyal to Mr Wike had 27 lawmakers, while the other loyal to the governor initially had four members.

Both factions hold parallel sittings at different locations in the state capital, Port Harcourt.

The crisis got messier on 11 December 2023 when the pro-Wike lawmakers announced their defection to the APC, prompting Mr Ehie to declare their seats vacant after obtaining a court order to continue legislative business without the interference of the Wike-backed lawmakers.

After declaring vacant the seats of Mr Wike’s allies, the Mr Ehie-led four-member assembly received Governor Fubara’s 2024 Rivers budget for consideration.

Before presenting the budget, Mr Fubara ordered the demolition of the state assembly complex that was bombed during the attempt to impeach him.

The Rivers State Government said it demolished the building after experts certified it unfit for use after it was bombed, but it was glaring that the complex was demolished to prevent the pro-Wike lawmakers from using it for parallel sittings.

Peace deal

To resolve the Rivers crisis, President Bola Tinubu midwifed a controversial peace pact between Governor Fubara and Mr Wike.

The peace agreement was criticised as being one-sided – in favour of Mr Wike.

In the peace agreement, Governor Fubara was asked to allow the pro-Wike lawmakers to return to the assembly and conduct legislative business at a place of their choice and with their rights and privileges restored.

Mr Fubara was directed to re-present the 2024 budget before the pro-Wike lawmakers and recalled Mr Wike’s allies who resigned as commissioners from Governor Fubara’s cabinet in solidarity with Mr Wike.

Both parties were asked to withdraw all pending suits in court relating to the crisis while the pro-Wike lawmakers were asked to withdraw the impeachment notice on Mr Fubara.

As part of the implementation of the deal, Mr Ehie resigned as speaker of Mr Fubara-backed four-member assembly, reducing the governor’s loyalists in the crisis-torn legislature to three.

Mr Ehie also withdrew the contempt proceeding he initiated against his opponents in compliance with the peace deal.

On the other hand, the pro-Wike lawmakers withdrew the impeachment notice against Mr Fubara.

The pro-Wike lawmakers, however, declined to withdraw the court cases: one of them is challenging the legality of the Rivers N800 billion 2024 budget, therefore, outsmarting Governor Fubara, who has repeatedly suffered legal defeats in this regard.