Rivers State Government Denies Appeal Court Reinstated Amaewhule and 26 Lawmakers

The Rivers State Government has clarified that the recent Court of Appeal ruling did not reinstate Martin Amaewhule and 26 others as members of the Rivers State House of Assembly. The State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Israel Dagogo Iboroma, emphasized that the court’s decision did not address the issue of defection, which led to Amaewhule and his colleagues’ loss of their seats.

According to the statement, Amaewhule and 26 other members of the Assembly automatically forfeited their seats on December 11, 2023, when they defected from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC). The Attorney General explained that, under Section 109(1)(g) of the Nigerian Constitution, this defection resulted in an automatic loss of their positions, which does not require a court order to be effective.

The statement further highlighted that the ongoing legal dispute at the Court of Appeal centered around the legitimacy of the 2024 Appropriation Law and whether the National Assembly could assume the legislative duties of the Rivers State House of Assembly, rather than the defection itself.

The Rivers State Government has appealed the decision of the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court and requested a stay of execution, which means the judgment will not take effect until the Supreme Court rules on the appeal. Iboroma urged residents to disregard any claims suggesting that the court ruling reinstated Amaewhule and others.