Port Harcourt, Rivers State – The Rt. Hon. Victor Oko-Jumbo, Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct by-elections to fill 27 vacant seats in the Assembly. This announcement follows the dismissal of a lawsuit that had been blocking the election process.
The political situation in the Rivers State House of Assembly has been turbulent since October 2023, when Hon. Martin Chike Amaewhule and 26 other lawmakers attempted to impeach Governor Sir Siminalayi Fubara. This attempt was followed by their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which initially sponsored their election, to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in December 2023.
In response to the defections, the PDP sought to reclaim the seats, asserting that the lawmakers’ change of allegiance created vacancies. On December 13, 2023, the defectors filed a lawsuit, Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1681/2023, seeking an interlocutory injunction to prevent INEC from holding by-elections to fill the seats. The injunction effectively paused the election process, stalling the Assembly’s operations.
However, on October 30, 2024, Hon. Amaewhule and his 26 colleagues unexpectedly withdrew the suit, leading to its dismissal by the Federal High Court in Abuja. With the injunction now lifted, Speaker Oko-Jumbo has urged INEC to proceed with the by-elections.
“Now that Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1681/2023 has been struck out, the order of interlocutory injunction is also spent,” the Speaker stated. “Accordingly, as the Rt. Honourable Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, I call on INEC to forthwith conduct a by-election to fill the 27 vacant seats in the Rivers State House of Assembly.”
The by-elections, if scheduled promptly, could bring stability back to the Assembly and provide representation for the constituents whose seats have been unfilled for nearly a year.