As is always in whatever concerns Rivers State in recent times, the Federal House of Representatives (HoR) Caucus from Rivers State is sharply divided into two.
One is in support of the FCT Minister Nyesom Wike which seeks to unseat the sitting governor of the state. The other is in support of Gov Sim Fubara which fights daily for survival.
By this, one caucus led by a Port Harcourt-born lawmaker, Kingsley Chinda, is rooting for Martin Amaewhule, the Wike-backed speaker (who allegedly defected but denied defecting); while the other led by Awaji Abiante, the Andoni-born lawmaker, supporting Gov Fubara.
The Wike-backed HoR caucus from Rivers State paid a solidarity visit to Rivers State on February 17, 2025, where they demanded for actualization of their understanding of the implications of the Supreme Court dismissal of the appeal filed by Fubara calling on the police and other authorities to help Amaewhule capture power. Today, Monday, February 24, 2025, the Abiante-led HoR Caucus countered and denounced the visit of February 17, and called on the authorities to help the sitting Fubara consolidate power by continuing to support the Fubara-backed speaker of the state’s House of Assembly, Victor Oko-Jumbo.
Sogboye Eli, a legal luminary, rising force in public opinion, and political analyst in Port Harcourt, has thrown his weight behind the position of the Abiante Hor Caucus.
The first caucus led by Chinda (minority leader of the HoR) with a senator, Bari Mpigi, that addressed the press on February 17, 2025, had asked law enforcement agencies to help Amaewhule to take power as speaker. They called on Gov Fubara to obey court order especially those of the Supreme Court.
Countering them, the Abiante caucus accused the Chinda caucus of visiting Rivers State to confuse the people with what they called warped interpretation of simple court ruling.
The new caucus said contrary to the claim by the Chinda group, records must be set straight because lies unrebutted soon overtake the truth.
The caucus said the true position regarding applicability of the judgment of the Court of Appeal in Suit No: FHC/ABJ/CS/1613/2023) is that the judgment does not touch on the status of Amaewhule and his group of 27 as former members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
They said Amaewhule and 26 others had lost their seats in the Rivers State House of Assembly following their voluntary defection/cross-carpeting which happened on the floor of the House of Assembly in the full glare of the public on 11th December 2023.
The group quoted plethora of cases by the Supreme Court saying the Supreme Court of Nigeria had declared that the proper and only interpretation to be given to the provisions of Section 109(1)(g) and Section 68(1)(g) of the Constitution of The 1999 Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended is that an elected lawmaker in Nigeria who after an election on the platform of a particular political party, defects to another political party, automatically loses his seat in the affected legislative House from the date of his or her defection.
“The pronouncements of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in these cases, having not been set aside nor overruled in any subsequent judgment of the Supreme Court, remain the law till date on issues of defection of a member of a legislative House in Nigeria.
Read also: Supreme court upholds 27 Rivers lawmakers’ positions, rejects Fubara’s suit
“The Nigerian Court of Appeal reiterating the law as affirmed by the Supreme Court, made it clear that loss of seat upon such defection is both automatic and mandatory.
“The legal effect of these provisions and the Supreme Court judgments is that, as of 11th December, 2023 when Amaewhule read out the letters of defection of himself and 26 others on the floor of the Rivers State House of Assembly, they lost their seats and automatically and mandatorily became former members of the House.”
The caucus said it is worthy of note that: “Neither the fact of their defection nor any issue relating to their defection nor on their status as former lawmakers of the Rivers State House of Assembly was raised, submitted or discussed in the proceedings leading to the 22 January 2024 judgment of Omotosho.
“Instead of placing before the Federal High Court, the truth and material facts about their status as ex-lawmakers, to afford the Honourable Court an opportunity of deciding on the real issues, the claimants in that case (Amaewhule and co) craftily invented lies and falsehood calculated to mislead the Honourable Court.”
They said another material fact is whether the Oko-Jumbo led lawmakers can carry on with businesses of the House after the others automatically and mandatorily lost their seats by virtue of their voluntary defection.
“This issue was not raised nor discussed in the Omotosho judgment which is thus inapplicable in the circumstance.”
They said the rule has been set down in a ruling in the Plateau case when Walter Onnoghen (as he then was, while delivering the lead judgment in the Supreme Court case of Dapianlong vs Dariye when he declared that “There is no doubt that there existed in the Plateau State House of Assembly 14 vacant seats as a result of cross carpeting.
“It is my view that until the vacancies created by the carpet crossing members are filled by the process of by-election, the Plateau State House of Assembly can only transact such legislative duties that require the participation of less than 2/3 majority of ALL the members of that House, which duties definitely excludes impeachment proceedings”, This position is yet to be overruled by any court in Nigeria, and thus remains the law.
They said contrary to the claims that there were reliefs and claims in the Omotosho ruling that the Supreme Court dismissal of Fubara appeal would support, the group said it was false. “The truth they have chosen to continue to hide from the public is that none of the said “several reliefs” in that case touches on the two material issues in the matter, namely:
“The legal effect of the defection of an elected legislator in Nigeria; and (b) whether the remaining minority lawmakers can carry on with businesses of the House. The judgment of Hon Justice Omotosho does not affect issues not submitted for determination in the case.
“In deciphering what the Court decided in the judgment in FHC/ABJ/CS/1613/2023, it is the contents of the judgment that will be looked at and not what the parties assumed the Court to be saying. This position has been affirmed by the Nigerian appellate Courts.
“The misleading overtures of Amaewhule and his group cannot make the judgment of Omotosho to become relevant to issues not decided in the case. Amaewhule and his co-travellers appear to have lost sight of the trite position of the law, that a case is an authority only for what it decides which was emphasized in the Supreme Court.
“The judgment of Hon Justice Omotosho is an authority and relevant only for what it decided. The law is that judgment must always be read in the light of the facts on which the case was decided, and must not be stretched beyond the facts presented before that Court.”
Abiante and group said it is laughable that the group of former lawmakers led by Amaewhule were now claiming that their defection ‘never took place.’ “It is unfortunate that these characters had in 2023 found themselves into the House of Assembly of Rivers State as lawmakers but unfortunately, by their own voluntary defection on the same floor of the House on 11th December 2023, got themselves out of the House.
“Evidence of their defection is everywhere for the public to see including an affidavit sworn before Okoronkwo. These afterthought and feeble attempts to deceive the public are a waste of time as most members of the Nigerian public and legal stakeholders in Nigeria are now too enlightened and too knowledgeable in the situation in Rivers State to be misled by the dishonest antics and laughable volte-face by Amaewhule and his group of ex lawmakers.
“As one who has sworn to defend the Rule of law, the Governor of Rivers State, His Excellency Sir Siminalayi Fubara will continue to uphold the Nigerian Constitution and the Rule of Law in Rivers State. The Governor has never disrespected and will never disrespect the Court of law.”
Abiante, supported by Boma Goodhead
Akuku, Boniface Emerengwa, Anderson Allison Igbiks, and Manuchim Umezurike
group therefore called on the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Chief Justice of the Federation as well as the Inspector General of Police, all institutions in Nigeria, as well as well-meaning Nigerians to ignore the deliberate misrepresentation of the facts and the effect of the judgment of Omotosho on the situation in Rivers State by Amaewhule and co.
Evaluation:
Evaluating the positions of both caucuses, Eli pointed out the developments that seem to overshadow the points raised by the Chinda caucus visit, one of which he said is the composition of the Chinda caucus. (This one is by the Rivers caucus of the House of Representatives properly so-called as it comprises members of the People’s Democratic Party, All Progressives Congress, and Labour Party. Yours had, in addition to two Senators, House of Representatives members only of the PDP. You claim reinstatement against the spirit and letters of both the law and the January 22, 2024 judgment of Omotosho which never considered his (Amaewhule’s) legal status since the issue of defection was never before my Lord in FHC/ABJ/CS/1613/2023 filed by Amaewhule on November 29, 2023, when he was still Speaker, before he destroyed his legitimacy foundations with the defection on December 11, 2023.
“This one which visited Jumbo, the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, who has no legal, constitutional or moral encumbrances (since Victor Oko-Jumbo did not defect) is strictly about Rivers members of the Green Chamber across partisan lines.”
In a nutshell, Eli went on, “Your remarks at the Press Conference by your group which is sympathetic to the former Speaker of Rivers State House of Assembly and his co-defectors claiming to put a stop to the falsehood and misrepresentation of facts on the judgments of courts as it affects Rivers State has been torn to shreds with facts and extant case law authorities by Abiante’s caucus”.
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