A Federal High Court in Port Harcourt today dismissed a lawsuit seeking to declare the seats of 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly vacant. The Labour Party had filed the case, arguing that the lawmakers should lose their positions after their reported defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Justice Emmanuel Obile, presiding over the matter, decided to strike out the case after carefully considering the arguments presented by both the Labour Party and the defense team representing the 27 lawmakers. The legal representatives of the assembly members cited a Supreme Court ruling which they argued affirmed the leadership of Speaker Martins Amaewhule.
Furthermore, the defense team pointed out that the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, had previously withdrawn similar claims of defection in a separate case heard in Abuja. Despite these arguments, the Labour Party insisted that the issue of the lawmakers’ defection remained unresolved and urged the court to proceed with the case based on the submitted documents.
Ultimately, Justice Obile sided with the defense, leading to the dismissal of the Labour Party’s case. This ruling effectively ends the legal challenge against the 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly regarding their defection and the status of their seats.
