A Rivers High Court in Port Harcourt has barred the Martins Amaewhule-led Rivers State Assembly from forcing their way into the assembly building pending the hearing of the petition before it.
In complaint No/PHC/3030/CS/2023, the House of Assembly and its Speaker, Edison Ehie, sought, among other things, an exparte order forbidding Amaewhule and Maol, the first and second respondents in the complaint, from forcefully entering the Assembly complex.
The court also prevented lawmakers from using the assembly premises today, citing governor Siminalayi Fubara directives, that the facilities was being renovated.
While Amaewhule is said to support ex-governor Nyesom Wike, Ehie is said to support Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
Hon Justice Monina Danagogo also issued an ex parte order in Port Harcourt, Rivers state capital, warning against using thugs and police officers to force their way into the premises of the House of Assembly.
The judge further prohibited the defendants and their representatives from interfering with or disrupting their duties.
The State Chairman of the Caretaker Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Tony Okocha however faulted the order, accusing the judge of being bias and threatening to report him to the National Judicial Council.
“You are witnesses to the return of the era of ‘Jankara Judgement’ in Rivers state…the said Justice Danagogo is the younger brother of Chief Tammy Danagogo who currently serves as SSG to the Governor,” Okocha said.
“We know this is a ploy to allow the Governor to present the budget to the four lawmakers and we will not sit and allow this to happen.”
The court judgment follows the unexpected decision of 27 of the 32 assembly members to abandon the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) – on whose platform they were elected – in favor of the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC).
For weeks, Amaewhule and another member, Edison Ehie, have been feuding over the Speakership.
The Assembly, led by Amaewhule, served an impeachment notice on Rivers Governor Siminalayi Fubara in October and dismissed Ehie as House leader. However, several Assembly members loyal to Fubara promptly impeached Amaewhule and appointed Ehie as the new Speaker.
The schism between Fubara and his predecessor, Wike, who is now the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), is said to have been the result of this crisis in the 32-member Assembly.
Though the two leaders have both attended the same public events in recent weeks and everything appeared to be settled, yesterday’s defection of 27 lawmakers from the PDP to the APC suggests that further drama may ensue in the state’s political arena.
