The Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt, on Friday, barred 25 lawmakers backed by the immediate-past governor of the state, Nyesom Wike, from parading themselves as members of the state’s House of Assembly.
The judge, Charles Wali, ordered them to stay away from the House and restrained them from taking any action in their capacity as the state’s lawmakers pending further hearing in the case fixed for 29 May.
He gave the ex parte order in a suit instituted by Victor Oko-Jumbo, a factional speaker of the assembly and two of his colleagues loyal to Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
Mr Oko-Jumbo emerged the speaker of the three-member faction on Wednesday, PREMIUM TIMES reported.
Martin Amaewhule, the speaker recognised by a total of 27 other lawmakers who are loyal to Mr Wike (now FCT Minister), and 24 lawmakers from his camp, are sued as defendants in the suit.
Other defendants are Governor Fubara, the state chief judge and the attorney general of the state.
To justify their application for the order, Mr Oko-Jumbo and the other applicants cited the defection of the 25 members of the rival faction in the House from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the subsequent declaration of their seats vacant.
Being an ex parte order, it means that the court’s restraining order against the 27 lawmakers, was issued on Friday after a hearing that exluded the adverse parties sued by the applicants.
“An order of interim injunction is granted restraining the 1st to 25th defendants from parading and holding out themselves as members of Rivers State House of Assembly and or meeting/sitting at the Auditorium of the House of Assembly quarters located at off Aba Road, Port Harcourt or any other place whatsoever to purport to carry out legislative business of Rivers State House of Assembly, their legislative seats having been declared vacant pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice,” the court ordered.
The court also barred Governor Fubara from interfacing or accepting any resolutions, bills or howsoever interacting with the pro-Wike lawmakers in their capacity as members of the assembly from 13 December 2023 that their legislative seats were declared vacant.
The order against Mr Amaewhule and the 26 other members of his camp went viral online on Friday. Chukwudi Nelson, the spokesperson for Governor Fubara, also shared a copy with PREMIUM TIMES on Friday.
The Rivers State House of Assembly has been enmeshed in crisis since last October after Mr Wike-backed attempt to remove Governor Fubara from office, a development that led to the burning of a section of the assembly complex and its subsequent demolition by the state government.
The crisis split the lawmakers into two factions – one faction with 27 members are loyal to Mr Wike while the other with three members are loyal Governor Fubara.
Mr Amaewhule is the speaker of the Mr Wike-backed faction while Edison Ehie, a former majority leader of the assembly who was removed from office for declining to support the move to remove Governor Fubara was the speaker of the faction loyal to the governor.
The crisis got so messy last December when the pro-Wike lawmakers defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress, prompting Mr Ehie to obtain a court order to carry out legislative business without an interference by the Wike-backed faction.
Buoyed by the court order, Mr Ehie declared vacant the seats of 27 pro-Wike lawmakers, a development that prompted an intervention by President Bola Tinubu, who brokered a controversial peace deal between Messrs Fubara and Wike.
One of the conditions in the deal was for Mr Fubara to allow the pro-Wike lawmakers whose seats were declared vacant to return to the assembly with their rights and privileges restored and also conduct legislative business at the venue of their choice.
Following the peace deal, Mr Ehie, the erstwhile speaker of the four-member assembly backed by Mr Fubara, resigned from his position as well as his membership of the assembly, reducing lawmakers loyal to Governor Fubara to just three.
Mr Ehie was later appointed Chief of Staff to Governor Fubara
After returning to the assembly, the pro-Wike lawmakers have been at loggerhead with Mr Fubara, and have overridden the governor’s veto on bills for at least six times.
In apparent dissatisfaction with the actions of the pro-Wike lawmakers, Mr Oko-Jumbo, one of the three lawmakers loyal to Mr Fubara on Wednesday emerged as a factional speaker of the assembly, about 24 hours after Mr Fubara declared that the state had no house of assembly.
Mr Oko-Jumbo, in his acceptance speech, urged Governor Fubara to disregard the actions taken by the pro-Wike lawmakers since 13 December 2023 that their seats were declared vacant, adding that their actions were a nullity.
