The faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly loyal to Governor Siminalayi Fubara has petitioned the Independent National Electoral Commission to conduct fresh elections to fill the vacant seats in the state legislature.
This came as an aftermath of the defection of 27 lawmakers loyal to Minister Nyesom Wike to the All Progressives Congress in October 2023.
The crisis, according to the Punch, began five months into Fubara’s administration, with a disagreement between him and his predecessor, Wike, over state finances and other issues.
The situation escalated with an attempted impeachment of Fubara, led by factional Speaker Martin Amaewhule, and the bombing of the state House of Assembly complex.
Meanwhile, the faction loyal to Fubara, led by Edison Ehie, declared the seats of the defected lawmakers vacant and announced plans to write to INEC for fresh elections.
Although Ehie later resigned, the current factional leader, Sokari Goodboy, has confirmed that the House has written to INEC to conduct elections to replace the lawmakers who defected to the APC.
The development highlights the ongoing political tensions in Rivers State, with the Fubara and Wike factions at odds over control of the state legislature and political power.
The outcome of the elections will likely have significant implications for the political landscape in the state.
Goodboy stated, “We have already written to INEC when Edison Ehie, was the Speaker.”
Asked if the House had received a feedback from INEC, he promised to find out and get back to our correspondent.
He had yet to do so as of the time of filing this report on.
However, a source in INEC, who does not want his name mentioned because he was not authorised to speak, said though it would not be possible to ascertain of the commission had received such a letter from the Rivers State House of Assembly, the commission would act based on court pronouncement on the matter.
The source recalled that some of the issues concerning the defection of 27 lawmakers’s defection and the alleged declaration of the seats vacant were still in court.
“The commission cannot conduct fresh election in the 27 state constituencies because some of these matters are still in court,” the source stressed.
But efforts to get confirmation from the National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, proved futile, as he did not answer several calls put across to his mobile phone.
Meanwhile, an Abuja-based human rights lawyer, Tolu Babaleye, said only the court had the right to declare a seat vacant before INEC could conduct an election for the vacant seat.
He said, “It is not the responsibility of one politician to proclaim the seat of another vacant because that would be usurping the power of the court and under the principle of the separation of power, it is not allowed.
“It is the court that can proclaim the seat vacant, no other court can do it. If a court declares it vacant, it remains so until another court says otherwise. But until that happens, INEC has the obligation to conduct the elections for the vacant seat.”
In another development, former Rivers State governor, Dr Peter Odili, has said the incumbent governor, Fubara, has taken full control of governance in the state.
This was as the governor declared that the delivery of development projects and social services by his administration would not be politicised because they were geared towards solving pertinent needs faced by the people of the state.
The governor explained that while every human and societal challenge could not be solved in one fell swoop, every promise made would be fulfilled within available resources and delivered on schedule.
Both Fubara and Odili spoke at the inauguration of the dualised Omoku-Egbema Road project, which took place at De Masters Hotel Junction, Obrikom Road, Omoku Town in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area on Saturday.
Odili, while performing the project inauguration, commended the governor for rightly focusing on the people in line with his chosen mantra, ‘People First’, adding that God has destined him to govern the state.
He stated, “Your Excellency, the man God destined to govern Rivers State, a man whose life reflects the fear of God, a man who doesn’t talk too much but does a lot.
“The governor by the way he has taken off is in full control of governance in Rivers State. We want to thank him because governance is about the people. He has chosen the mantra, ‘People first’. What else can be added to that? He is demonstrating it by action.
Speaking about the project, Fubara said, “When the project was added to the list of projects to mark our one year in office, there was a challenge, but the contractor assured us of delivering it, which is a reality today.
“What are we doing today? We are here to tell our people that they are the most important thing to us. We are here to assure you that every part of this State will have positive impact of our administration.”
