Rivers Crisis: Rep Members Reject Appeal Court Ruling, Insist Pro-Wike Lawmakers Remain Sacked
- There is a new dimension to the crisis rocking the Rivers state House of Assembly following a recent court judgement
- On Thursday, July 4, the Court of Appeal overturned the sack of the 25 lawmakers in Rivers Assembly who are allies of the FCT minister Nyesom Wike
- Reacting, opposition House of Representatives members, also known as G60 lawmakers, rejected the court judgement and insisted that the defected lawmakers had lost their seats
TheTalk.NG journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements
Some members of the House of Representatives loyal to Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers state have insisted that the Court of Appeal’s judgement on the political crisis in Rivers state has not changed the situation in the state.
Rivers governor Fubara and predecessor, Nyesom Wike.
Photo credit: Sir Siminalayi Fubara, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike – CON, GSSRSSource: Facebook
As reported by PremiumTimes, the lawmakers disclosed this at a press conference on Thursday, July 4, in Abuja.
While reacting to the judgement, the Reps members led by Ikenga Ugochinyere (PDP, Imo) insisted that the 25 members of the Assembly, loyal to former Governor Nyesom Wike, remained sacked.
According to them, the Court of Appeal only ruled on the jurisdiction of the Rivers State High Court to hear the case and not the main substance of the matter.
Mr Ugochinyere, flanked by three other lawmakers, said the judgement did not void the “sack of the 25 lawmakers.”
Hon. Ugochinyere stressed that the sacked Rivers lawmakers’ seats remained vacant as the Appeal court did not decide on the validity of their illegal defection or the declaration of their seats vacant.
He noted that the legal fireworks continue as the declaration of the vacant seats is still valid and subject to pending litigation, The Nigerian Tribune reported.
Group reacts as court rules on order restraining pro-Wike lawmakers
Earlier, TheTalk.NG reported that the National Democratic Coalition (NDC) has reacted to the judgement of the appeal court that voided the order restraining 25 pro-Wike lawmakers from parading themselves.
The group said the appellate court has now created new complications with the judicial precedence it has set.
The Executive Director of the coalition Dr. Samson Iroegbunam, said the judgment would not stand the test of time.
Source: TheTalk.NG
