The Federal High Court in Port Harcourt has set April 16, 2025, to deliver its ruling on an application seeking the dismissal of a defection case filed by the Labour Party against 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
The Labour Party is asking the court to declare the seats of the lawmakers vacant, alleging they defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
During Monday’s proceedings, counsel for the defendants, including Speaker Martins Amaewhule, urged the court to strike out the case, citing a recent Supreme Court judgment. He presented a Certified True Copy of the ruling, which reinstated the Amaewhule-led Assembly leadership and noted that Governor Siminalayi Fubara, who initially raised the defection claims, had withdrawn them in a separate suit before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
However, Labour Party’s counsel, Clifford Chukwu, argued that the defection issue was only a “collateral matter” in the Supreme Court’s decision and urged the court to proceed with the case based on the available evidence.
On February 29, the Supreme Court ruled that no legal defection had taken place due to a lack of substantiated evidence, effectively maintaining the Assembly’s current composition.
