In an interesting twist to the ongoing political crisis in Rivers State, the Martins Amaewhule-led Rivers State House of Assembly convened a sitting on Thursday, some 24 hours after Governor Siminalayi Fubara led the demolition of the Assembly Complex on Moscow Road.
The Amaewhule group held a plenary session at the auditorium of the Assembly Quarters on Aba Road despite a restraining court order.
The sitting by the Amaewhule group came just a day after the five-man group led by Edison Ehie declared vacant, 27 seats of lawmakers in the Amaewhule group for defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
During Thursday’s plenary by the Amaewhule group, the lawmakers condemned the demolition of the Assembly Complex by the state government.
The lawmaker representing Andoni constituency, Ofiks Kagbang, moved a motion of urgent public importance condemning the demolition, and this was unanimously adopted by the House.
Meanwhile, another member, Major Jack, presented the report on the Rivers State Local Government Amendment Bill to the Speaker which was adopted.
The group’s Speaker also said when this Bill is passed into law it’ll eliminate the governor’s power to dissolve Local Government Executives.
In total, there were 26 lawmakers in attendance even as the group decided to use the auditorium at the Assembly Quarters for their legislative sittings for now.
Unending Drama
The governor had on Wednesday presented the state’s 2024 budget to the Ehie group at the Government House.
Both Ehie and Amaewhule have been embroiled in a leadership crisis that is currently in court. While Ehie and his people are loyalists of Fubara, Amaewhule and his people are believed to be loyal to ex-governor Nyesom Wike, who is now the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Wike and Fubara had enjoyed what many described as a ‘father-son relationship’ but the affairs have been ruptured since October when the Amaewhule group initiated an impeachment proceeding against Fubara.