The Action Peoples Party (APP) has cautioned the 27 pro-Wike lawmakers in Rivers State, stating that repeatedly issuing 48-hour ultimatums to Governor Siminalayi Fubara will not change the fact that they are no longer lawmakers until the legality of their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) is decided in court.

The political crisis in Rivers State escalated on Monday when the 27 lawmakers gave Governor Fubara a 48-hour deadline to re-present the state’s 2025 budget.

However, in a statement by its National Chairman, Barr. Uche Nnadi, APP emphasized that while it supports the governor’s decision to implement the Supreme Court’s verdict, this does not include reinstating the embattled lawmakers, as their case is still pending at the Court of Appeal.

Nnadi said, “I urge the pro-Wike sacked lawmakers to stop the endless issuance of 48-hour ultimatums as it will not reverse the fact that they are no longer lawmakers until the decampment case is decided. Though the party is in support of the decision of the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, to implement the Supreme Court’s verdict, however, it doesn’t include reinstatement of the sacked lawmakers as their case is being heard in the Appeal Court.

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“The Supreme Court did not deliver judgment on the legality of the decampment of the 27 pro-Wike lawmakers to the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the case is still pending at the Appeal Court. The case challenging the illegality of the pro-Wike decampment is being heard at the A’Court, and it was surprising that the Apex Court conferred legitimacy on lawmakers whose defection is still a subject o of litigation.”