By our Reportorial Desk
The Peiples Democratic Party PDP says members of the Rivers State House of Assembly who defected from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress APC have lost their seats.
A statement by the Public Secretary,Debo Ologunagba said ” For emphasis, Section. 109(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution provides that a member of a House of Assembly shall vacate his seat in the House if….( 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 the expiration of the period for which that House was elected “
” It should be noted that Section 109(1)(g) of the Constitution is self – executory. The import of this is that the members of the Rivers State House of Assembly,who defected, have vacated their seats by reason of their deflection “
It would be recalled that In the beginning of the political crisis in October last year involving the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory FCT Nyesom Wike and Governor Siminilayi Fubara, Twenty Seven lawmakers loyal to the Minister defected from the PDP to the APC .
Following the development,the 32- State Constituency structured Assembly was polarised firstly, by the impeachment of the Amaewule leadership by pro – Fubara lawmakers comprising four members which also elected Ehie as Speaker and secondly, by the deflection of the Amaewule faction to the All Progressives Congress APC.
Ehie, empowered by the relevant sections on defection,,declared their seats vacant and attended to executive bills sponsored by the State Governor including the 2024 Appropriation Bill.
However, the Amaewule faction which seemingly lost out took a breather when President Bola Tinubu intervened and doled out an eight – point truce agenda for the warring parties.
But, a recent outburst by Tony Okocha,a Chieftain of the APC in the state exacerbated the laid back hostilities.
Okocha had in a statement asked the APC lawmakers to impeach Gov. Fubara without further delay.
Also, Chairmen of Local Government Councils loyal to Minister Wike seeking tenure elongation supported the call for the impeachment of the governor.
The climax of the vociferous statements of the APC and allied supporters in the PDP was the emergence of a new Speaker of the State House of Assembly.
Hon. Victor Oko Jumbo,a pro – Fubara lawmaker representing Bonny Constituency was elected following the resignation of Ehie in January following the Tinubu peace deal.
Oko Jumbo ‘s emergence signifies the collapse of the peace deal and simply directs a two – pronged questions of either the rise of a new crisis in the Assembly or the entertainment of a new political order in the state backed by the will to exercise executive powers unassailably.
