Wike vs Fubara: Court Delivers Judgement on Request to Conduct Election to Replace Minister’s Allies
- An order of a federal high court allegedly written by Justice Donatus Okorowo has halted the removal of 27 lawmakers in the Rivers state house of assembly
- Legit.ng reports that the lawmakers recently defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC)
- The court order appears to have validated the defection of the 27 lawmakers who recently left the PDP for the APC
Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 6-year-experience covering politics in Nigeria
Port Harcourt, Rivers state - The federal high court, Abuja, has blocked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from organising by-elections to replace 27 members of the Rivers state house of assembly whose seats were declared vacant.
Donatus Okorowo, the judge, gave the order on Friday, December 15, according to Premium Times.
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Court allegedly rule in favour of Wike's allies
It would be recalled that on Wednesday December 13, Edison Ehie, a member of the Rivers state house of assembly, declared the seats of 27 lawmakers vacant over their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
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Ehie is the factional speaker of the house of assembly and an ally of Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
The 27 lawmakers whose seats were said to have been declared vacant, are loyalists of Nyesom Wike, the immediate past Rivers governor and current minister of the federal capital territory (FCT).
Now, emerging reports said in a bid to thwart any by-elections from being held to fill their seats, the Wike-backed faction of the lawmakers through their lawyer, Peter Onuh, in an ex-parte request, urged the federal high court to restrain the Rivers assembly, INEC, and the PDP from taking actions that could undermine their rights.
As reported by Arise News, in the interim ruling, the federal high court restrained INEC and the Rivers parliament “from declaring vacant or taking any steps whatsoever to declare the seats of the plaintiffs at the Rivers State House of Assembly.”
Legit.ng obtained a copy of the ruling on Monday morning, December 18.
Sara-Igbe alleges interference in Rivers governance
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the national coordinator of the South-South Leadership Forum, Anabs Sara-Igbe, said Fubara offered to resign his position before the crisis in Rivers state worsened.
Speaking on Saturday, December 16, in an interview on Channels TV, Sara-Igbe, a former spokesperson for the Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), said the governor opted to resign because apart from the way forces above him prevented him from asserting his independence, he didn’t have enough control over the state’s funds and had difficulty running his government.
Onochie offers perspective on Rivers crisis
Meanwhile, the former chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Lauretta Onochie, said President Bola Tinubu intervened in the feud between Wike and Fubara "because of concerns for the well-being of the people of Rivers state".
Onochie stated this via a post on her verified X (formerly Twitter) page recently.
Labour Party withdraws petition against Fubara
In another related news, Legit.ng reported that the Labour Party (LP) withdrew its petition challenging the election victory of Governor Fubara, the PDP candidate in the 2023 Rivers state poll.
The LP had previously contested Fubara’s win, presenting its case to the Appeal Court in Lagos. However, the court dismissed the petition, affirming Fubara’s electoral success under the PDP banner.
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Source: Legit.ng
