27 Pro-Wike Lawmakers Who Decamped To APC Not Coming Back – Rivers Govt

The Rivers State commissioner for youth development Hon. Chisom Gbali has said that the 27 House of Assembly members, whose seats were declared vacant after they decamped to the All-Progressives Congress from the Peoples Democratic Party will not be reinstated, despite the recommendation of the 8-point agreement reached by the warring parties in the state recently in Aso Rock at the instance of President Bola Tinubu.

Hon. Gbali made this clear on Friday on Arise TV’s Morning Show, stressing that Governor Sim Fubara is a man of peace and would implement the agreement reached, to the extent that it does not contravene the law, especially the constitution.

The seats of the 27 lawmakers, allegedly loyal to Mr. Nyesom Wike, minister of FCT, had been declared vacant during a sitting by the court backed-Speaker Edison Ehie.

The speaker also communicated same to INEC, asking the electoral body to conduct a fresh election to replace the affected lawmakers.

The commissioner said that it has been settled by the Supreme Court that once a House member cross-carpets, he automatically loses his/her seat, unless there was unresolvable crisis in the party he or she was leaving.

“Some of these issues are before the court and the fate of those who left would be determined by the court and not Fubara,” he said.

Recall that the 27 lawmakers, led by factional Speaker, Martin Amaewhule  had convened on Wednesday somewhere at the demolished State of Assembly Complex and announced the withdrawal of the impeachment notice they had issued against Fubara, which eventually threw the state into political turmoil.

It was barely 24 hours after the truce brokered by President Tinubu.

The factional lawmakers claimed that their change of mind was in pursuance of the resolutions reached at the truce meeting.

However, stakeholders in Rivers, who were present at the peace meeting, say Governor Fubara was bullied into signing the resolution.

Though a spokesman to the governor had insisted that Mr. Fubara signed in the free exercise of his will.