Falana Explains What Will Happen to Rivers Lawmakers Whose Seats Were Declared Vacant
- There is a new twist to the crisis rocking the Rivers state House of Assembly and its members
- Femi Falana has detailed what would befall the lawmakers who dumped the PDP and defected to the APC
- The lawyer stated that the lawmakers loyal to Nyesom Wike lacked the legal understanding of what would befall them in the coming days if the Supreme Court weighed in on the crisis
Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements.
Human Rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) has weighed in on the crisis rocking the Rivers state assembly.
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The foremost constitutional lawyer said the Rivers state lawmakers whose seats were declared vacant were unexposed to sound legal advice.
Falana made this assertion in an interview on Channels Television's Politics Today on Wednesday, December 13.
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According to the senior lawyer, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is required by law to conduct elections for the lawmakers' seats. He said once the Supreme Court rules on any matter, it is final, and the lawmakers will have to comply, Vanguard reported.
He added that declaring the defected lawmakers' seats vacant in the Rivers Assembly was in line with Nigeria's constitution.
Falana explained thus:
“The legislators were not exposed to sound legal advice. Everybody should know that once the Supreme Court has made a pronouncement on a matter in any country, you’re bound to comply, and if you’re going to take any decision, you must study the judgement critically.
“Just yesterday, 20 legislators who defected from the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, to the All Progressives Congress, APC, had their seats declared vacant by the court. That’s the law; unless the Supreme Court decides to change it, that is the law in Nigeria today.
“It’s also a good development; it’s a good law; it’s a good interpretation that there should be no political prostitution in the country because it’s tantamount to political immorality if you vote on the platform of a political party and you abandon the party; you’re advised to go and try your luck by contesting again under the new political party.”
Rivers Assembly building under demolition
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the Rivers political crisis took a new turn on Wednesday morning, December 13, as at least 10 bulldozers moved to the state assembly complex and started demolishing the building.
This came as Ehie led other lawmakers loyal to Governor Siminalayi Fubara to hold plenary in the early morning before the demolition.
Court stops 27 lawmakers loyal to Wike from sitting in Rivers Assembly
The Rivers state high court barred the 27 lawmakers who joined the APC on Monday, December 11, from the state house of assembly premises.
The 27 lawmakers loyal to Wike recently dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The court's decision followed a directive from Governor Siminalayi Fubara that the assembly complex was under renovation.
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Source: Legit.ng
