The Rivers State Government has clarified the status of the 27 lawmakers who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), stating that their seats in the State House of Assembly remain vacant.
This announcement came after misinterpretations of a recent Court of Appeal judgment, which some claimed had reinstated the defected legislators, led by Martin Amaewhule.
In a statement released on Thursday, Israel Dagogo Iboroma, the State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, addressed these claims and dismissed them as false. Iboroma explained that Amaewhule and the 26 other lawmakers automatically vacated their seats on December 11, 2023, when they left the PDP.
This, he said, was in line with Section 109(1)(g) of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution, which requires lawmakers to lose their seats if they switch political parties without a valid reason.
“The issue of defection of Martin Amaewhule and 26 others was never before the Federal High Court or the Court of Appeal. Therefore, no court has legitimized their membership of the House of Assembly following their defection,” Iboroma said.
He further explained that the case heard by the Federal High Court and later the Court of Appeal was related to the 2023 Appropriation Law and the role of the National Assembly in the affairs of Rivers State’s legislature. The status of the defected lawmakers was not part of the case, contrary to what some reports had suggested.
After the Court of Appeal dismissed the state’s appeal regarding the 2023 Appropriation Law, several media outlets falsely reported that the judgment allowed Amaewhule and his group to remain in the House of Assembly.
Iboroma firmly rejected these claims, stating, “There is a wave of false reports suggesting that Amaewhule and the others remain in the Assembly with him as Speaker. This is patently untrue.”
The Attorney General also disclosed that the Rivers State Government plans to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court. In addition, an application for a stay of execution will be filed to ensure the current status of the Assembly is maintained until the case is resolved.
