THE Victor Oko-Jumbon 3-man Rivers State House of Assembly has headed to the Supreme Court to challenge Thursday’s ruling of the Court of Appeal nullifying the order of a state High Court which gave a restraining order on Amaewhule and his 24 members of the Assembly.
Oko-Jumbo, on Friday confirmed the filing of an appeal at the Supreme Court challenging the judgement of the Appeal Court delivered in Abuja.
He explained that the action was necessitated by the fact that 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”.
The Speaker made the clarification when he addressed lawmakers during plenary at the temporary facility used for Legislative businesses in Port Harcourt on Friday.
Oko-Jumbo declared that he remains the authentic Speaker because there cannot be two Houses of Assembly in Rivers State.
He reiterated that the seats of Martin Amaewhule and 24 other former lawmakers remain vacant as declared by the then speaker, Rt Hon Edison Ehie, on 13th December, 2023, following their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) on the 11th day of December, 2023.:
The Speaker stated; “There cannot be two Houses of Assembly in Rivers State or indeed any State in Nigeria. This House of Assembly, with me as the Speaker, is the only House of Assembly in Rivers State.
“As the whole world knows, on the 11th day of December, 2023, Martin Amaewhule and his 24 friends defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressive Congress.
“On the 13th Day of December, 2023, Rt. Hon. Edison Ehie, as the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, declared the seats of Martin Amaewhule and 24 others in the RSHA vacant. That declaration by Rt. Hon. Edison Ehie has not been set aside by any court in Nigeria.”
He explained that the legitimate members of the Rivers State House of Assembly secured restraining order against Martin Ameawhule and the 24 others when they continued to parade as members of the RSHA despite their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party to the APC and their seats declared vacant.
He said that because they felt dissatisfied with the rulings of the Rivers State High Court in Suit No. PHC/1512/CS/2024, Martin Amaewhule and 24 others had filed an Appeal No. CA/PH/198/2024 at the Court of Appeal.
Oko-Jumbo stated: “Yesterday, the 4th of July, 2024, the Court of Appeal, in its lead Judgement, allowed the Appeal by Martin Ameawhule and 24 others on the ground that the Rivers State High Court lacked the jurisdiction to hear and determine the case.
“Accordingly, the Court of Appeal struck out Suit No. PHC/1512/CS/2024 and NOTHING MORE. The Court of Appeal did not make any declaration that Martin Amaewhule and others did not defect from the PDP to APC.
“The Court of Appeal also did not make any declaration that Martin Amaewhule and 24 others are still members of the RSHA.”
Oko-Jumbo emphasised: “We strongly believe 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.
“Accordingly, we have instructed our lawyers and they have filed an appeal to the Supreme Court of Nigeria challenging the judgement of the Court of Appeal delivered on the 4th Day of July, 2024.
“Martin Amaewhule and 24 others, in spite of all their pretences, are no longer members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, and they remain so until a court of competent jurisdiction says otherwise.
“Once again, we the legitimate members of the Rivers State House of Assembly hereby call on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to promptly conduct a bye-election to fill the vacant seats in the RSHA.
“We strongly urge the general public to ignore Martin Amaewhule and 24 others in their pretense that they are members of the RSHA,” he added.
Tambari Sydney Gbara, Rivers State, Commissioner for Environment and Spokesman of the Rivers State Peoples Democratic Party PDP.
The ruling by the Appeal Court today was basically on jurisdiction. The court did not authenticate the 27 lawmakers that they are still retaining their seat because on that issue the law is very very clear.
Any legislator that defects from his political party to another party when there are no known crisis automatically loses his seat.
So the ruling today was only based on jurisdiction and so what our legal team has now two options; either to appeal at the supreme Court.
Speaking exclusively to Nigerian Tribune Tambari Dimkpa Rivers State, Commissioner for Environment and Spokesman of the Rivers State Peoples Democratic Party PDP affirmed that ruling by the Appeal Court was basically on jurisdiction.
He said, “The court did not authenticate the 27 lawmakers that they are still retaining their seat because on that issue the law is very very clear.
“Any legislator that defects from the is political party to another party when there are no known crisis automatically loses his seat.
“So the ruling today was only based on jurisdiction and so what our legal team has now two options; either to appeal at the Supreme Court or come back at the Federal High Court to pursue the case further”.
Gbara, who was one of the Commissioners cleared by the Oko-Jumbo assembly explained; I want to also inform you that there so many litigations right now, pursuing this same cause and they are all at different stages of hearing.
“This one is just one out of the so many and so we are optimistic that at the end of the day justice will be served in such a manner that Rivers people will be happy.
“The only thing that can give joy to Rivers people will be that these law makers who on their own abandoned the mandate that was given to them by the electorate started dragging a self-centered agenda instead of putting the state first in the discharge of their legislative work are put out “.
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