REJOINDER.
Our attention has been drawn to a falsity circulating on both digital and print media captioned **Rivers State House of Assembly elects Hon. Major Jack as Majority Leader and Hon. Franklin Nwabochi as Chief Whip with the Funds Management Bill scaling its Second Reading and Local Government (Amendment) Bill 2023 passing its First reading.
It therefore became imperative for us to react to this publication as follows:
PENDING COURT CASE BEFORE THE FEDERAL HIGH COURT.
* Suit No: FHC/PH/CS/240/2023 was taken out by 1. Rivers State House of Assembly and Ors
And Rt. Hon. Martins Chike Amaewhule and 13 ors challenging the Rt. Hon. Martins Amaewhule led group of legislators.
In the said suit, the Honourable Court ordered parties to maintain the status quo ante… For ease of reference, the orders made by the honourable court are reproduced below:
- That an Order is made directing the plaintiff/applicants to put the Respondents on notice forthwith.
- That order is however, made directing that all parties on record respect the court and should not take any step concerning the subject matter, since the matter is already before this court, sub judice, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.
Flowing from the excerpted portions of the Orders made by the Honourable Court, it is expedient to bring to the fore that the actions of the Rt. Hon. Martins Amaewhule-led group of legislators are not only a disregard of the court process but contemptuous and tantamount to usurping the powers of the court.
Therefore, the same should not be given any credibility or given serious attention.
The act to over-reach the court process by this Rt. Hon. Martins Amaewhule-led group of legislators is nothing but a sign of desperation and a desire to hang on to power.
THE WAY FORWARD…
The Hon.Speaker Rt. Hon.Edison Ogerenye Ehie of the 10th Assembly is a law-abiding citizen of Nigeria and is willing to obey the process and await the judgement of the court.
This is what democracy is all about and the survival of the democratic process is hinged on the rule of law and obedience to court orders including the one made on the 9th of November 2023.
The purported election of Hon. Major Jack and Hon.Franklin Nwabochi as leader and chief whip respectively is invalid, null and void and exposes the duo and co-conspirators to contempt of court. The fact that this group of legislators proceeded to carry out legislative duties by trying to amend the Local Government law No. 5 of 2018 and give a second reading to the Fund Management Bill is indicative of the fact that this group is not desirous of entrenching democratic practices and same should not be encouraged.
No matter the falsehood being peddled out to the general public, this should not be misconstrued as hard work but seen as an act of selfishness and lack of selflessness.
CONCLUSION:
In conclusion, we call on well-meaning indigenes and residents of Rivers State and Nigeria at large, to support Rt. Hon. Edison Ogerenye Ehie in his quest for justice, fair play and equity, including the promotion of good Governance.
Long Live Rivers State,
Long Live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Signed:
Hon Victor Oko Jumbo.
Spokesman, Rivers State House of Assembly.
