Rivers Assembly crisis: G-60 lawmakers, group seek NJC’s intervention over Abuja Court ruling

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Members of the G-60 in the House of Representatives and the Coalition for Justice and Accountability (CJA) on Monday night called for the intervention of the National Judicial Council (NJC) over the purported judgement on the reinstatement of the 27 members of River State House of Assembly whose seats were declared vacant by a competent court.

Spokesman of G-60, Hon. Ikenga Ugochinyere, who gave the charge while reacting to the controversial ruling in Abuja, however, called on River State citizens to maintain their stand.

While noting that the sacked lawmakers are bound by the affidavit deposed to at the Federal High Court, he urged their sponsors to find another job for their allies rather than fighting a lost battle.

He said: “It is our firm belief that the 27 seats are still vacant and the people of River State should not shift their ground on the issue. Oke Jombo is still the legitimate Speaker of the River State House of Assembly and the seats of these lawmakers have been declared vacant. So the act is already completed, the seats have been declared vacant a long time ago.”

Ugochinyere maintained that the seats of the 27 members of the River State House of Assembly have long been declared vacant, hence they are no longer lawmakers.

“Their seats have been declared vacant and also backed by subsisting order of a competent court and the only way they can become lawmakers is if INEC conduct by-election to fill these vacancies.

“So, people should disregard the purported news of their reinstatement. And it’s so painful that these are people who have decamped from the Peoples Democratic Party to the APC. Suddenly, now they are running back to say we are back to the PDP.

“But Nigerians know that there is a file at the Federal High Court where these people sworn an affidavit at the Federal High Court that they left PDP because of the so-called imaginary decision that is not even existing anywhere in PDP.

“So, it’s so surprising that they are saying court somewhere is now saying that they are still PDP members even when the Judge is truly aware that there’s an affidavit backing up their decampment.

“And not only that, the subject matter before the court has nothing to do with the PDP membership, so it’s so strange to us how the court arrived at importing that strange aspect into the purported judgement that they are branding about.

“Let’s say this clearly that, it is widely known that the 27 lawmakers publicly decamped to APC. And at various times deposed to affidavits at the federal high court in suit No: FHA/FHC/ABJ/1681/CS/2023 that they are now members of APC owing to the crisis in PDP.

“So, the position of the law in this respect is very clear that once a member of a political party in the parliament defects to another party when no crisis exist in the political party, such a seat is declared vacant.

“So, their act is a completed act and the leadership of the House of Assembly of River State has done the needful and it’s no longer an issue that their seats have since been vacant.

“So, we are calling on NJC to once again note that some of these judicial officers are not backing down in their quest to satisfy the taste bud of the political allies and keeping a blind eye to already existing legal pronouncement on issue submitted before them thereby sitting on appeal on judgement of court of cognate jurisdiction.

“It is our firm belief that the 27 seats are still vacant. These filings have been made at the federal high court by these 27 lawmakers who have left PDP, so how can now suddenly said there is a judge that members of PDP that sworn affidavit before a court of competent jurisdiction that they are no longer.”

He therefore urged the embattled lawmakers to “go and check the Votes and Proceedings of the River State House of Assembly, stressing that there is no issue bothering on their legitimacy.”

He maintained that the G60 still stand strongly that these seats are vacant and that court of competent jurisdiction has declared the seats vacant, adding that a valid Speaker has been elected to take charge of the affairs of the Assembly.

He emphasised that the former lawmakers’ vacant seats have been ratified by the River State House of Assembly and that they are bound by the affidavit they willingly sworn to at the Federal High Court.

Hon. Ugochinyere further observed that “it’s so strange that they can come back this evening to say they are members of the Peoples Democratic Party just because they are desperately trying to do the unthinkable which is no longer possible.

“There is no way you can remove Governor Fubara from office. Those who are sponsoring these young guys should find another job for them. This game is over, it’s over and I’m saying it’s over. Or else you want to burn down the entire Nigerian democracy you cannot.”

In a related development, the Coalition for Justice and Accountability (CJA), through its President, Comrade Dada Segun Akin, faulted the judgement of the court that ordered the 27 lawmakers to return to the Rivers State House of Assembly.

The Coalition condemned the judgment delivered by a Rivers State High Court, which ruled that the 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly who moved from the PDP to the APC are still members of the PDP and Rivers State House of Assembly.

According to the group, the judgment can only be celebrated by enemies of the judiciary, Rivers State and Nigeria.

Recall that in December 2023, 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, led by the then Speaker of the Rivers Assembly, Martin Amawhule, defected from the PDP to the APC.

In line with the constitutional provision that a legislator who defects should vacate his seat, a Rivers State High Court restrained the defected lawmakers from parading as members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

With the restraining order, Hon Victor Oko-Jumbo was elected as Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

In a judgement delivered by a Rivers State High Court, the judge after striking out the suit based on the preliminary objection went into the merit and held that the defected members are still members of the PDP.

The group, in a statement shortly after the judgment was delivered, said “We are shocked that the judge arrive at the conclusion that the defected members were still members of the PDP when the members themselves stated reasons for their defection.

“In the letter of defection submitted by Martins Amaewhule and 25 others on the floor of the Rivers State House of Assembly on December 18th, 2023, the members sited division in the PDP as the reason for their defection.

“Same evidence were placed before the court, and the judge still went ahead to rule that the defected members are still PDP members, and therefore still members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.”

The coalition said it had revealed and warned of the plot to get a favourable judgment and return the Pro-Wike lawmakers to the House last week.

“It is unfortunate that this sad day for our judiciary is before us.

“We however wish to state that the judgment is unacceptable and the matter must be pursued by the plaintiffs to a logical conclusion.

“Finally, we call on the National Judicial Commission(NJC) to immediately wade into this issue at the Rivers State High Court, Degema, because the judgment will cause further damage to the already battered image of the judiciary”, the coalition said.

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