Governor Siminilayi Fubara of Rivers State

A few hours after the Martin Amaewhule-led Rivers State House of Assembly declared the seats of Victor Oko-Jumbo and three others vacant, the Pro-Fubara Assembly, led by Oko-Jumbo, urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct bye-elections to fill the seats of the 25 lawmakers loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.

In a statement signed by Oko-Jumbo on Tuesday and made available to newsmen, he explained that the 25 legislative seats were declared vacant on December 13, 2023, by the then Speaker, Rt. Hon. Edison Ehie, and regretted that the commission has been foot-dragging on conducting the bye-election to fill the vacant seats.

Oko-Jumbo maintained that the legislative seats of Amaewhule and 24 others remain vacant following their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and must be filled through a byelection conducted by INEC.

He said that the inability of INEC to act since December 13, 2023, has created room for unnecessary distractions from Amaewhule and his committee of friends, calling on the commission to discharge its constitutional responsibilities to the people of the state.

Oko-Jumbo said, “Please, recall that on the 11th day of December, 2023, Martin Chike Amaewhule and 24 others defected from the Peoples Democratic Party, which sponsored their election into the Rivers State House of Assembly, to the All Progressives Congress. Their defection was headline news and widely reported in print and electronic media.”

The statement read in part: “On the 13th day of December, 2023, the defection by Martin Chike Amaewhule and 26 others was further cemented in an affidavit deposed to by Martin Chike Amaewhule, when, in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1681/2023, Martin Chike Amaewhule & 26 Ors v. INEC & 5 Ors, in paragraph 15 thereof, he deposed as follows: ‘That faced with the state of uncertainty and confusion in the 2nd defendant (Peoples Democratic Party) caused by division in the political party, the Plaintiffs were forced by the state of affairs within the 2nd defendant to defect and join the All Progressives Congress (APC).’

“On the 13th day of December, 2023, Rt. Honourable Edison Ogerenye Ehie, as then Speaker, declared the seats of Martin Chike Amaewhule and 24 others in the Rivers State House of Assembly vacant and called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct bye-elections to fill their vacant legislative seats. This has not been challenged or set aside by any court of law.

“Subsequently, I was elected as the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly. My colleagues and I have been piloting the affairs of the Assembly, including passing resolutions, screening commissioner-nominees, and recommending them to His Excellency, the Governor of Rivers State, to be appointed and sworn in as Commissioners, among other responsibilities.

“Truth and facts are constant, sacrosanct, and indelible. The fact of the defection by Martin Chike Amaewhule and 24 others cannot be erased by pretenders like Martin Chike Amaewhule and his committee of friends.

“Today, the 15th day of October, 2024, Martin Chike Amaewhule and 24 others, who ceased to be members of the Rivers State House of Assembly on December 11, 2023, purportedly declared vacant the legislative seats of Rt. Honourable Victor Oko-Jumbo and others. They have no such powers. This is an exercise in futility. It is a joke taken too far.

“As the Rt. Honourable Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, I call on INEC to immediately conduct bye-elections to fill the legislative seats declared vacant on December 13, 2023. I also call on Nigerians, particularly the good people of Rivers State, to ignore the vituperations and rantings of Martin Chike Amaewhule and his committee of friends.

“They are not members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, let alone having the powers to declare vacant the legislative seats of legitimate Assembly members who have remained steadfast and did not defect like them.”