A coalition of opposition members in the House of Representatives, the G-60, has said that the judgment of the Court of Appeal did not void the declaration of the seats of 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
The spokesperson of the G-60, Mr. Ikeagwuonu Ugochinyere, revealed this at a press briefing in Abuja while speaking on the issue of the jurisdiction of the Rivers State High Court, which declared the seats of the 27 lawmakers vacant.
Twenty-seven members of the Rivers State House of Assembly elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had dumped the opposition party for the All Progressives Congress (APC).
However, the defection of the 27 Rivers State legislators has been a subject of litigation and on Thursday, the Court of Appeal delivered judgment on the issue.
The Appellate Court judgment has thrown up different interpretations.
Ugochinyere, who was flanked by other members of the group, said the judgment of the Appeal Court did not in any way touch on the sack of the 27 lawmakers.
According to him, “The Court of Appeal ruling today shouldn’t be misconstrued in any way. The Rivers lawmaker’s seats remain vacant as the Appeal court did not decide on the validity of their decampment nor declared their seats vacant.
“The Appeal Court focused on declaring that the Federal High Court is the only court with the jurisdiction to decide on the legality or illegality of their decampment thereby ruling against Rivers High Court proceedings.
“So the actions of the House formerly led by Ehi in declaring the seat vacant have not been declared null and void by any court. Jumbo remains the Speaker of Rivers State House of Assembly, and the legal fireworks continue as the declaration of the vacant seats is still valid and subject to pending litigation.”
He called on the people of Rivers State to take charge of their state.
Emmanuel Ukoh
