Rivers Assembly: Execute A’Court’s verdict to avoid crisis, NASS caucus tells Fubara

From Tony John, Port Harcourt

The Rivers State National Assembly Caucus has called on the state  Executive arm to implement the judgement of the Court of Appeal which recognised the Martin Amaewhule-led House of Assembly, to avoid breakdown of law and order.

The NASS caucus stated this in a communique signed by Senator Barinada Mpigi (NASS Rivers Caucus Leader), Rep. O.K. Chinda (Minority Leader) and Dunamene Dekor (Leader, Rivers State Caucus House of Representatives) issued in Port Harcourt, yesterday.

In the nine-point resolution, the NASS caucus said while the Executive Arm failed to use the court of  Justice Wali to unseat the Amaewhule-led House of Assembly, the state government has initiated a plot at a Federal High Court in Rivers State to declare the seats of Amaewhule and the 27 members vacant.

The caucus stated: “We are calling on the Executive Arm to execute the judgement of the Court of Appeal, affirming Rt. Hon. Martins Amaewhule and the 27 lawmakers as the only Rivers State House of Assembly to avoid any breakdown of law and order in Rivers State.

“The Governor of Rivers State having failed to use the Court of Justice Wali to unseat the 27 lawmakers, has initiated a plot at a Federal High Court in Rivers State to declare the seats of the Rt. Hon. Martins Amaewhule and the 27 members are vacant, even when a Federal High Court, Appeal Court and the Supreme Court have all affirmed Rt. Hon. Martins Amaewhule and the 27 lawmakers as the only Rivers State House of Assembly.

The federal lawmakers said they were in the state to “extinguish the delusion,  prevarication, lies, and the deliberate distortion of facts and judgements of courts as it affects the Rivers State House of Assembly under the leadership of Rt. Hon. Martin Amaewhule, and the Governor of Rivers State.

“This has become very necessary as the governor has procured the services of some persons, including Senior Advocates of Nigeria, to turn the law and judgements of court upside down to skew public opinion to align with the governor’s position and give him a reason not to obey any judgement of court that is against him or not in his favour.”

The caucus warned: “We wish to warn these false content creators and political merchants that it is very possible to continue to eat from the treasury of Rivers State without tampering with the position of the law, and the intentional misinterpretation of judgement of courts.

“It’s instructive to state emphatically that by the withdrawal of the governor’s appeal before the Supreme Court and the dismissal of the suit with cost, the judgement and all orders made by Hon. Justice J. K. Omotosho, which was upheld by the Court of Appeal, takes effect immediately and forever.

“This, of course, includes the affirmation of Rt. Hon. Martins Amaewhule as Speaker and the 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly as the only House of Assembly of Rivers State and the directive to the Inspector General of Police to provide security to enable the Rivers State House of Assembly to continue to perform their functions without hindrance.”