THE Clerk of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Mr. Emeka Amadi, has stated that there has been no change in the leadership of the Assembly.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, May 8, Amadi said Martin Amaewhule remains the recognised speaker of the assembly.
This followed the election of Victor Oko-Jumbo, representing Bonny State Constituency, as factional speaker by lawmakers loyal to Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
In his statement, Amadi said there was no change in the leadership structure of the house as Amaewhule, Dumle Maol, and Major Jack remain speaker, deputy speaker, and majority leader respectively.
Amadi, in a statement, said: “The attention of the Rivers State House of Assembly has been drawn to reports in the electronic and print media that there was a leadership change in the Rivers State House of Assembly today, the 8th day of May 2024.
“As the Clerk of the Rivers State House and one who administered the Oath of membership and office to all members and a custodian of all records of the House, I write to state the following.
“That there was no change in the leadership of the House today and Martin Chike Amaewhule remains the Speaker of the House, while Dumle Maol and Major Jack remain Deputy Speaker and Majority Leader, respectively.
“That apart from the seat of Khana Constituency Il, which was declared vacant because of death of the member who represented the constituency, no other seat has been declared vacant.
“That there is a subsisting judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction, in Suit no FHC/ABI/CS/1613/2023, in which the court, among other orders, “granted an ORDER OF INJUNCTION restraining the Governor of Rivers State (11th Defendant), whether by himself or by his agents and or hirelings or in any manner howsoever, from impeding or frustrating the Rivers State House of Assembly under the leadership of the 2nd Plaintiff as the Speaker of the said House in the performance of their functions, including holding of meetings and the transacting of the business of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
“That Victor Oko-Jumbo, Sokari Goodboy Sokari and Adolphus Orubimie Timothy were suspended on the 30th of October 2023, pursuant to the Rules of the House, and their suspension is yet to be lifted and they cannot lay claim to be officers of the House.
“That the House is still conducting legislative business in line with the Standing Orders of the House and the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as altered.
“That the good people of Rivers State and the Nigerian Federation should discountenance any media report purporting any recent change in leadership of the Rivers State House of Assembly.”
The Assembly has been polarised since last year along the camps of the governor and his mentor, predecessor and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.
In December last year, at the peak of the political crisis, 27 of the lawmakers elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
One of the 32-member Assembly- Dinebari Loolo- died in September last year.
In October, Edison Ehie was elected factional speaker after his removal as House Leader by the faction led by Wike’s loyalist, Marin Amaewhule, following a plot to impeach Fubara.
Ehie later resigned as lawmaker and was appointed Chief of Staff to Fubara.
On Monday, May 6, Fubara said members of the Assembly loyal to Wike owed their existence to him, even as he insisted that the Amaewhule-led faction do not “exist,” but that he decided to “give them a floating” through a peace deal brokered by President Bola Tinubu.
On Thursday, May 9, Amaewhule alleged that Fubara was planning to demolish the Assembly quarters after the governor visited the lawmakers residence.
The governor had explained said he visited the quarters to see if there would be any renovation after the election of a new speaker (Oko-Jumbo), but Amaewhule insisted that the quarters were new and do not require renovation.
