BREAKING: Acting PDP Chair Asks INEC To Fill 27 Rivers Assembly Vacant Seats

In a subtle move against the defect­ed 27 pro-Nyesom Wike Rivers State House of Assembly members, the Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Amb. Umar Damagun, has written to the Independent National Elector­al Commission (INEC) to conduct a bye-election to fill up the vacancies in the Assembly......Read The Full Article>>.....Read The Full Article>>

Damagun’s action was contained in his letter addressed to the com­mission which its certified true copy (CTC) dated November 13, 2024, was released on Monday.

In the letter titled, ‘Demand for immediate conduct of fresh election in 27 state constituencies for Rivers State which have become vacant pursuant to Section 109(1)(g) of the con­stitution’, Damagun recalled the unlawful defection of the 27 former lawmakers on De­cember 11, 2023, noting that in line with the constitution they are no longer members of the Assembly. ­

He, therefore, urged the commission to perform its constitutional duties and be­gin the process of conducting a fresh election to fill the va­cancies created in the 27 state constituencies by the unlawful act of the former Assembly members.

The letter also reads in part: “The leadership of our great party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) wishes to draw the attention of the commission to the gross violation of Section 109 (1)(g) of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Ni­geria 1999 (as amended) by 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly following their unlawful defection from our party, the PDP, who spon­sored their elections, to the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Monday, December 11, 2023.

“The commission may re­call that our party, the PDP, nominated all our 32 state House of Assembly candi­dates in Rivers State for the 2023 general election on the 7th of July 2022 via your electronic candidate election nomination portal (see attached acknowl­edgement).

“The commission may also recall that following the nomination, the commission conducted election into the Rivers State House of Assem­bly on the 18th of March, 2023 and our party won 32 seats in the state Assembly. The elect­ed state House of Assembly members were inaugurated and sworn in June, 2023.

“However, on Monday, December 11, 2023, a period of just six (6) months after inauguration, 27 out of the 32 members publicly announced their defection from our party to the All Progressives Con­gress (APC). This defection is a gross violation of Section 109(1)(g) of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nige­ria 1999 (as amended).

“The only two grounds of division and merger pro­vided for in the constitution that permit such defection is completely non-existent in our political party. It, therefore, means that the defections of the 27 members are without lawful excuse and these mem­bers have vacated their seats in the Rivers State House of Assembly by the operations of Section 109(1)(g) of the 1999 constitution.

“In view of the foregoing, we hereby demand that the commission performs its con­stitutional duties and begin the process of conducting a fresh election to fill the va­cancies created in the 27 state constituencies by the unlawful act of the Assembly members. Find attached the list of the 27 state Assembly members and their constituencies. While thanking the commission for its commitment to deepening democracy in our country, please accept the assurances of our highest regards.”

INEC has, however, con­firmed that they received the letter.

Recall that the Rivers As­sembly has been engulfed in crisis since 2023, following the rift between Governor Simina­layi Fubara and Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

In December 2023, at least 27 lawmakers of the Assembly, who are loyal to Wike, defected from the PDP to the APC.

The Rivers Assembly has 32 seats. One of the lawmakers, Dinebari Loolo, died in Sep­tember 2023.

In October 2023, Edison Ehie was elected speaker of the factional assembly after his removal as House Lead­er, amid the plot to impeach Fubara.

Ehie later resigned as law­maker to become chief of staff to the governor.

The lawmakers, who are loyal to Wike are led by Mar­tin Amaewhule, the factional speaker.

Days later, Victor Oko-Jum­bo, the lawmaker representing Bonny constituency, was elect­ed speaker by lawmakers loyal to Fubara.

Only three lawmakers are in the Jumbo-led faction, in­cluding the factional speaker.
Pro-Wike Lawmakers Have Lost Their Seats, Clark Insists

Meanwhile, the Convener of the Pan-Niger Delta Fo­rum (PANDEF), Chief Edwin Clark, has insisted that the former Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Mar­tins Amaewhule, and 27 other pro-Wike lawmakers have lost their seats in the House of As­sembly due to their defection to the ruling the APC.

In a statement released on Monday, the elder statesman argued that the lawmakers had committed perjury by claiming to be members of the Peoples Democratic Party in one court document and denying their defection in a separate document.

He explained that follow­ing the lawmakers’ defection on December 11, 2023, Amae­whule and the 27 others failed to declare their defection to Justice Omotosho in a suit against the leadership of the National Assembly. This ac­tion, Clark said, caused their suit in court to die a natural death from that date until to­day.

The lawmakers later insti­tuted another case against the Independent National Elector­al Commission (INEC) and other bodies before Justice Do­natus Okorowo on December 13, 2024, where they admitted in paragraph 9 that they de­fected to the APC “because of problems or various disagree­ments in the PDP.”

Clark argued that, due to the conflicting positions in the separate suits, the lawmakers had committed perjury and had thus lost their seats in the Rivers State House of Assem­bly.

“Now that the former Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martins Amaewhule, and his 27 col­leagues have confirmed in a court of law that they defect­ed from the PDP to the APC, they have automatically lost their seats as of December 11, 2023, and are therefore disqual­ified from bringing any court action on behalf of the Rivers State House of Assembly and its members,” he said.

“Not disclosing their de­fection to Justice Omotosho’s court shows clearly that the case in Justice Omotosho’s court is null and void and of no effect. Therefore, the judgment allegedly given by Justice Omotosho in suit no: FHC/ABJ/1613/2023 is null and void, and it was a judg­ment obtained by fraud.

“Similarly, the three-man panel that sat on Justice Omo­tosho’s case did not preside over any valid judgment to be reviewed or supervised by the Court of Appeal, because the case was dead long ago. Therefore, they resorted to us­ing unnecessary and insulting language against the governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, which is tactless and uncalled for,” he added.

Clark also alleged that the FCT minister and the law­makers were doing everything possible to undermine Rivers State governor, Siminalayi Fubara, adding that President Tinubu had failed to call Wike to order.

He criticised Wike for hav­ing no respect for the consti­tution, stating that Nigerians would one day ask the presi­dent why he allowed the min­ister to breach the constitution on several occasions.

“He (Wike) wants to bring down the government of Siminalayi Fubara at all costs and without justification. Everybody in Nigeria heard him threatening the govern­ment of Siminalayi Fubara, an innocent governor, and the impression is being given that some people are above the law, including the former Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martins Amae­whule, and his 27 colleagues.

“Mr. President has been called several times to call his minister to order because a minister cannot disobey the constitution of Nigeria, yet Mr. President looks on.

“We have respectfully ap­pealed to President Bola Tinu­bu on several occasions to call Nyesom Wike to order or pre­vent him from breaching the constitution of Nigeria, but unfortunately, Mr. President has failed to carry out his duty as the number one citizen of this country.

“Nyesom Wike, who is a serving minister in President Bola Tinubu’s government, has no regard or respect for the constitution of Nigeria. Mr. President may one day be asked by patriotic Nigerians why he allowed Nyesom Wike to breach the constitution of Nigeria on several occasions,” the statement noted.