A RIVERS State High Court in Port Harcourt has affirmed that Martin Amaewhule and the 26 other members of the state House of Assembly remain members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), despite their televised announcement of their defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the peak of the political crisis in the state last year.
In his judgment in Port Harcourt on Monday, June 10, Justice Okogbule Gbasam ruled that the claimants failed to prove that Amaewhule and the 26 other lawmakers had defected to the APC, saying membership of a party is only proven by being listed on the party’s register or by membership card, and that television ceremonies and or verbal statements were not enough to show the same.
The Judge ruled that the Rivers state Government was bound to obey all laws passed by the Assembly, as they are still members of the PDP, as their names were still in the PDP’s membership register, as provided by the party.
He further held that the state government was bound by the laws made by the Assembly, as they remained PDP members, and as such, haven’t lost their seats.
