Oko-Jumbo’s Rivers Assembly urges INEC to conduct bye-elections for 25 vacant seats

 

Joseph Irikefe

 

The Victor Oko-Jumbo-led House of Assembly in Rivers State on Tuesday, held its sitting to counter the position of the Martins Amaewhule-led faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly, which had its plenary on Monday.

The Oko-Jumbo-led lawmakers were particularly against the resolution of their rivals barring the state governor, Siminialayi Fubara, from further spending money from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the state.

Like the Amaewhule’s House, the Oko-Jumbo legislators sent a letter to Fubara directing him to disregard Monday’s directives, which they said were issued by former lawmakers.

Oko-Jumbo, who signed the letter, said Amaewhule and 24 others had no legal capacity and moral basis to pass a resolution stopping the governor from withdrawing money from the consolidated fund.

He observed that the resolution further threatened to declare a government shutdown on expenditure pending the presentation of the Appropriation Bill for the 2024 fiscal year.

Oko-Jumbo said the resolution also directed all Rivers State Government ministries, commissions, agencies, departments and extra-ministerial departments to desist from spending taxpayers’ funds pending the passage of the 2024 Appropriation Bill.

He gave backgrounds of why Amaewhule and 24 others were not qualified to hold sittings and give orders to the governor.

He said: “On the 11th Day of December, 2023, at the 87th Legislative sitting of the House, former Speaker, Martin Amaewhule and the 24 former members defected from the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

“By virtue of section 109(1)(g) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution which are self-executing, and consequent upon their defection, on the 13th Day of December 2023, Rt. Hon. Edison Ogerenye Ehie, as the then duly recognised Speaker of the 10th Rivers State House of Assembly, by virtue of a court order granted by Hon Justice Danagogo on the 12th Day of December 2023 in Suit No. PHC/3030/CS/2023, and pursuant to section 109(2) of the 1999 Constitution, declared their seats vacant.

“Consequent to the above constitutional provisions and the declaration of their seats vacant, the recognised 10th Rivers State House of Assembly is the one led by Rt. Hon Victor Oko-Jumbo. Thus, the Rivers State Government has ceased paying any form of salaries, allowances, or statutory remuneration to the former members.

“The 10th Rivers State House of Assembly, which is the legitimate House under the leadership of Rt. Hon. Victor Oko-Jumbo is the only one recognised by law and the Rivers State Government, and thus has been receiving all statutory allocations due the House of Assembly and has been discharging its financial obligations by paying the salaries of the recognised honourable members of the House, their aides, and allowances of the public servants in the Rivers State House of Assembly”.

He observed that Martin Amaewhule and the 24 ex-lawmakers hinged their resolution on section 122 of the 1999 Constitution.

“That section empowers a state governor to continue to make appropriations for six months, from the budget of the previous fiscal year, where for any reason he is unable to present an Appropriation Bill to the House,” he said.

He reminded the defected members that Fubara presented the 2024 Appropriation Bill to the Rivers State House of Assembly, under the leadership of Ehie, and that it was duly passed on the 13th December 2023 and assented to on the 14th December 2023.

He said: “This House awaits to receive from His Excellency, the presentation of the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) for the next three financial years, pursuant to section 10 of the Rivers State Fiscal Responsibility Law, No 8 of 2010, in order to prepare for the 2025 fiscal year.

“The general public is therefore called upon to disregard and ignore those misguided former members, and also discountenance their illegal actions.

“I once again call on the Independent National Electoral Commission to expedite preparations towards the conduct of a bye-election to fill the vacant seats created in the Rivers State House of Assembly by the defection of Martin Amaewhule and 24 others”.

The letter was copied to Prof. Ngozi Odu, Deputy Governor, Rivers State; Secretary to Rivers State Government, Head of Service, Rivers State, Accountant-General, Rivers State, Auditor-General, Rivers State, Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, Chairman, Revenue Mobilization, Allocation & Fiscal Commission, Abuja; Accountant-General of the Federation, Abuja, Group Managing Director/CEO Zenith Bank PLC, Managing Director/ CEO and the Access Bank Group.