- A Rivers State High Court rejected a request to declare vacant the seats of Martin Amaewhule and 26 other lawmakers
- Justice Gbasam ruled that the claimants failed to prove the lawmakers’ allegiance switch from PDP to APC
A Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt has rejected the application to declare vacant the seats of Martin Amaewhule and 26 other members of the state House of Assembly.
In the case brought by Hyacinth Amadi, Godspower Obuah, and Tonye Dairus seeking to declare the seats of 27 lawmakers vacant, Justice Okogbule Gbasam ruled on Monday that the claimants failed to demonstrate that the defendants, Martin Amaewhule and the other lawmakers, had switched allegiance from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Justice Gbasam emphasized that party membership can only be confirmed through registration on the party’s roster or possessing a membership card, stating that televised ceremonies or verbal affirmations were insufficient evidence.
However, in response, Rivers State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Dagogo Israel Iboroma (SAN), clarified that the suit was dismissed due to lack of jurisdiction, citing it as an abuse of the court process. He explained that this action deprived the trial court of the authority to adjudicate the matter.
Iboroma highlighted that Martin Amaewhule and the others had officially defected from the PDP to the APC on December 11, 2023, as indicated in affidavit evidence submitted by Amaewhule and his co-defendants in a case before the Federal High Court in Abuja. He also noted the existing interlocutory injunction in another suit, which restrains Amaewhule and his associates from assuming the roles of lawmakers in Rivers State pending the resolution of the main suit.
The Attorney General urged the public to disregard any reports suggesting that the court has affirmed Amaewhule and the other lawmakers as PDP members and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.