A Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has barred members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, including its Speaker, all of whom are loyalists of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mr. Nyesom Wike, from parading themselves as members of the Assembly.
Justice Charles Nwali, who gave the interim order on Friday in a motion ex-parte brought before him, also gave an order restraining the defendants from dealing with, interfacing, accepting any resolutions, bills as members of the House of Assembly pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.
In the suit number PHC/1512/CS/2024, filed by Mr. Victor Oko Jumbo (Speaker, Rivers State House of Assembly); Sokari Goodboy, Orubienimigha Timothy, as members of the Assembly, asked the court to restrain the defendants from parading themselves as members of the House of Assembly, since their seats had been declared vacant with effect from December 13, 2023.
After hearing from Sammie A. Somiari (SAN) with B. N. Owunabo, K. O. Ogunjobi and others for the claimants/applicants, entered that Amaewhule and the others should stop acting as members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
Amaewhule and 24 of his colleagues had defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on which platform they were elected to the Assembly to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In addition, Justice Wali also ordered that the Rivers State government should stop dealing with the affected lawmakers since their seats were vacant after they defected from the PDP that nominated them for election.
Justice Wali Said: It is hereby ordered as follows: “An Order of interim injunction is granted restraining the 1 to 25th Defendants from parading and holding out themselves as members of Rivers State House of Assembly and/ or meeting/sitting at the Auditorium of the House of Assembly Quarters located at off Aba Road, Port Harcourt or any other place whatsoever to purport to carry out the legislative business of the Rivers State House of Assembly, their legislative seats having been declared vacant pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice.
“An Order of interim injunction is hereby made restraining the 26th to 28th Defendants from dealing with, interfacing, accepting any resolutions, bills and/or howsoever interacting with the 1 to 25th Defendants in their purported capacities as members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, their legislative seats having been declared vacant with effect from 13th December, 2023 pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice.
“It is further ordered that this order, the Motion on Notice and the writ and other processes in this case be served on the 1 to 25th Defendants/Respondents within seven (7) days from date by substituted means to wit: by pasting at the entrance gate of the Rivers State House of Assembly Legislative Quarters, Off Aba Road, Port Harcourt and for such service to be deemed good and proper.
“That this case is adjourned to the 29th May, 2024 for Motion on Notice.”
APC speaks on status of defected legislators
Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has reacted to the plot to impeach embattled governor of Rivers State, Mr. Siminalayi Fubara, by members of the state House of Assembly.
Addressing journalists at the APC national secretariat in Abuja, on Friday, National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Felix Morka, said that the 27 lawmakers, who defected to the APC, remained legitimate members of the House of Assembly.
Morka said the stance of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Governor Fubara that, having defected to the APC the 27 lawmakers have ceased to be members of the Assembly, was a wrong interpretation of Section 109 of the 1999 constitution.
He said: “If his declaration that the House of Assembly is nonexistent is based on the fact that the 27 members, who defected from PDP to APC, have lost their seats, then Governor Fubara is sorely misled.
“To be clear, the 27 Assembly members did not lose their membership of the Assembly by virtue of their defection. There is nothing homeostatic about Section 109(1)(g) of the constitution. It is not self-executing. The proviso to the said Section 109(1) (g) established exceptional grounds to the applicability of Section 109(1)(g)
“Section 109(1) states: A member of a House of Assembly shall vacate his seat in the House if (S.109(1)(g) – being a person whose election to the House of Assembly was sponsored by a political party, he becomes a member of another political party before expiration of the period for which that House was elected: Provided that his membership of the latter political party is not as a result of a division in the political party of which he was previously a member or of a merger of two or more political parties or factions by one of which he was previously sponsored.”
Morka maintained that “only a properly constituted court of law can make a determination as to whether a member of the House of Assembly has vacated his seat in accordance with that provision of the constitution. As no such judicial determination has been made, the 27 APC members of the House of Assembly remain the constitutionally recognised and authorised members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
“The governor’s declaration flies in the face of a matter pending in court as instituted by some elders of the state on the very question of the legal status of the 27 members that defected from PDP to APC. The court ruled that the plaintiffs in the matter lacked necessary locus standi to bring the action. An appeal against that ruling remains pending in the Court of Appeal. Governor Fubara is a party to that suit. And there is the subsisting order of injunction issued by a Federal High Court restraining the governor and his agents from impeding or frustrating the House of Assembly under the leadership of the Speaker, Martin Amaewhule.
“The governor’s attack on the House of Assembly and its leadership is in flagrant disrespect of the order of a court of law and a violent violation of the express provisions of the Constitution. His demolition of the Rivers State House of Assembly complex remains one of the most brazen attacks on democratic institutions in our nation’s history. And there is now grave apprehension that he may be spoiling to demolish the House of Assembly residential quarters in Port Harcourt, built only two years ago, following his recent Gestapo-like invasion of the Assembly quarters.”
“Governor Fubara’s weaponization of demolition of public assets as a strategy to dislodge and punish legitimate members of the legislature is nothing short of petty despotism and must be roundly condemned.
“Governor Fubara continues to conduct the business of government unhinged, and in total contempt of the state legislature. The governor expends the state’s resources without regard to appropriation and public procurement laws. The governor has unlawfully withheld local government funds as a punitive measure against perceived opponents, and only recently, directed that all heads and officials of the 23 local government areas should ignore the summons of the House of Assembly as he threatened to sack officials who flouted his directive.
“The power of the purse resides in the legislature. If, indeed, the House of Assembly does not exist, as Governor Fubara has declared, then the governor must necessarily shut down the entire government of Rivers State, especially the office of the governor, as he lacks the authority to expend public resources without valid appropriations by the legislature.
“Governor Fubara cannot abrogate the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He cannot be governor and be despot-in-chief of the Rivers State House of Assembly, at the same time. Attempting to impose an illegal three-man House of Assembly is executive lawlessness in the extreme. Governor Fubara’s quest to repudiate the Constitution and govern in denial of the existence of the state legislature is, in and of itself, among other grounds, an impeachable offense.
“We strongly counsel Governor Fubara to submit himself to the dictates of the constitution and the rule of law. In any and all contests between Governor Fubara and the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the constitution shall prevail, always. The good people of Rivers State deserve so much more than the seemingly unending chicanery of Governor Fubara.”
