A Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt has struck out a suit seeking to declare vacant the seats of 25 members of the State House of Assembly who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC). The lawmakers’ defection followed a political fallout between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.
The suit, marked PHC/61/CS/2024, was filed by ten members of the Rivers Elders Forum before Justice Chinwendu Nwogu. Among other prayers, the claimants urged the court to determine the constitutionality of President Bola Tinubu’s eight-point resolution to the Rivers political crisis presented during a December 18, 2023 meeting in Aso Rock.
They also questioned whether directives from the meeting—such as re-presenting the state’s budget and reappointing former commissioners who had resigned—were valid and in line with the Constitution.
The claimants included Chief Anabs Sara-Igbe, Dr. Kalada Iruenabere, Chief Marcus Atata, Chief Nwankwo Sunday, Cletus Zorbo-Or Nadukoro, Asigbor Lede, Michael Aloega, D. Allen Abbi, Johnson Ogbodu, and Mina A.K. Hart. Defendants were President Bola Tinubu, Governor Fubara, Hon. Martins Amaewhule (on behalf of the 24 other defected lawmakers), the Rivers State House of Assembly, and the PDP.
In his ruling on the ex parte application, Justice Nwogu held that his court lacked jurisdiction to entertain the case, noting that a similar matter had already been decided by Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja. He further stated that because President Tinubu was named as a party, the suit should be heard by a higher court with appropriate jurisdiction. Consequently, the suit was struck out.
