The Rivers State caucus in the House of Representatives has insisted that Martin Amaewhule and 26 other lawmakers loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, have lost their seats, due to their defection to the All Progressives Congress.
Expressing their support for Governor Siminalayi Fubara, they expressed dismay over the recent visit of some members of the National Assembly to the pro-Wike Speaker (Amaewhule).
The Leader of the House of Representatives caucus from the state and member representing Andoni-Opobo/Nkoro Federal Constituency, Awaji-Inombek Abiante, stated this when he led a delegation on a solidarity visit to the pro-Fubara Assembly Speaker, Victor Oko-Jumbo, in Port Harcourt, on Monday.
Other lawmakers during the visit were the member representing Akuku-Toru/Asari-Toru Federal Constituency, Boma Goodhead; the member representing Ikwerre/Emohua Federal Constituency, Boniface Emerengwa; the member representing Okrika/Ogu-Bolo Federal Constituency, Anderson Allison Igbiks and the member representing Port Harcourt Federal Constituency 1, Manuchim Umezurike.
The political crisis in Rivers State, which erupted in October 2023, has deeply divided the state into Fubara and Wike factions.
While Amaewhule and 26 lawmakers remained loyal to Wike, Oko-Jumbo and two others were recognised as legitimate state lawmakers by the Fubara administration.
After Fubara’s fallout with his estranged godfather, Wike, Amaewhule and his 26 allies, on December 11, 2023, defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress.
In the court proceedings to counter the PDP and Oko-Jumbo-led assembly, Amaewhule and his 26 allies denied defecting to the APC, saying they remained in the PDP.
The federal lawmakers, however, said Amaewhule and his colleagues should be ashamed of themselves for denying that they never defected, describing their action as unfortunate.
Barely a fortnight ago, a similar caucus in the Senate, led by Barinada Mpigi, had paid a solidarity visit to Amaewhule in Port Harcourt, whereby he called on Fubara to obey extant court judgments.
Abiante chided the Mpigi-led delegation for “willfully distorting the facts about the Justice James Omotosho judgment.”
He said the judge did not touch on the status of Amaewhule and the other lawmakers who he described as a “committee of friends and former members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.”
The federal lawmaker said, “Martin Amaewhule and 26 others had lost their seats in the Rivers State House of Assembly, following their voluntary defection/cross-carpeting which happened on the floor of the House of Assembly in the full glare of the public on 11th December 2023.”
Referring to related cases at the Supreme Court, he noted that the proper and only interpretation to be given to the provisions of Section 109(1)(g) and Section 68(1)(g) of the Constitution of the 1999 Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended is that “an elected lawmaker in Nigeria who, after an election on the platform of a particular political party, defects to another political party, automatically loses his seat in the affected legislative House from the date of his or her defection”
He said the pronouncements of the Supreme Court in the cases, having not been set aside nor overruled in any subsequent judgment of the Supreme Court, remained the law to date on issues of the defection of a member of a legislative House in the country.
Abiante said the legal effect of the provisions and the Supreme Court judgments was that “as of 11th December, 2023 when Rt Hon Martin Amaewhule read out the letters of defection of himself and 26 others on the floor of the state House of Assembly, they lost their seats and automatically and mandatorily became former members of the House.”
He said the only legal implication was that Amaewhule and the 26 others remained former members of the state House of Assembly, and accordingly were no longer entitled to parade themselves as members or to partake in any business or affair of the House.
On whether the state Assembly, as presently constituted, can carry out actual legislative functions, Abiante referenced Justice Walter Onnoghen’s judgment on Plateau State, wherein he ruled that “there is no doubt that there existed in the Plateau State House of Assembly 14 vacant seats as a result of “It is my view that until the vacancies created by the carpet crossing members are filled by the process of by-election, the Plateau State House of Assembly can only transact such legislative duties that require the participation of less than 2/3 majority of all the members of that House, which duties definitely excludes impeachment proceedings.”
Oko-Jumbo lauded the caucus for the solidarity visit and promised that the House would continue to make laws for the betterment of the Rivers people.
“Thank you for standing in solidarity with the Rivers State House of Assembly. Your visit has rekindled hope in us.
“The former 27 lawmakers are gone. We have too much at stake to abandon the ship.
“The governor is too focused on delivering good governance to the people. We will continue to stand for what is right and our duties are to make laws for the betterment of our people. That is our focus,” he said.
