Twenty seven (27) members of the Rivers State House of Assembly have defected from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the All Progressives Congress, APC; Monday, December 11, 2023.
The defection letters of the twenty seven Assembly members were read on the floor of the House.
Speaking on the reasons for their sudden defection to the APC, Speaker of the House, Martins Amaewhule, stated that “the division in the party (PDP) with regards to the tussle for the position of the National Secretary of the PDP, has made communications channel hazy and difficult”.
Amaewhule who read their letters on the floor of the House said, “The confusion surrounding the position of the National Secretary has generated plethora of court cases instituted by members of the party in various courts which has sharply divided the party, and therefore can no longer continue to be in such a political party.”
The legislators also condemned the alleged refusal of Governor Siminalayi Fubara to handover suspects that burnt the hallowed Chamber of the Assembly to Law Enforcement Agencies.
The motion which was sponsored by the 26 members and moved by the member representing Omuma Constituency in the House, Sylvanus Nwankwo, further condemned the seizure of funds for the management of the Assembly by Governor Fubara.
The lawmaker equally condemned “the brazen and unlawful attack on members and the Rivers State House of Assembly as an institution”, and called on Governor Fubara to without further delay handover Edison Ehie (factional Speaker of the House and former Leader of the House), Chijioke Ihunwo and other suspects associated with the razing down of the Assembly Chamber.
They called on the governor to immediately release funds meant for the management of the Assembly for the month of November, 2023, stressing that, “Henceforth the House would decline requests from Governor Fubara for approval, since his actions are no longer in tandem with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution as altered, and other extant Laws of the State.”
The Rivers State House of Assembly has been divided since the fire incident that razed the chamber on October 29, 2023.
Ehie and three other members were accused by their colleagues of masterminding the fire incident and were subsequently suspended on October 30, 2023.
The Ehie faction of the State Assembly also suspended Amaewhule as the Speaker of the House and some other members (names Ehie failed to reveal).
He announced himself the Speaker of the House after the suspension of Amaewhule.
While the Amaewhule faction of the House which is made up of 27 out of the 32 Assembly members is loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, the Ehie faction, comprising four out of the 32 members of the House, are loyal to Governor Sim Fubara.
The Assembly members loyal to Wike had attempted to impeach the governor, but the process was interrupted by Fubara’s supporters a day after the fire incident at the State Assembly complex.
Wike has in several interviews accused the governor of being an “ingrate”.
