By Towncriernews
Achieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze has described the celebration by members of the Rivers State House of Assembly loyal to Nyesom Wike, FCT Minister over the Court of Appeal ruling as a misconception of what the court said.
According to New Telegraph, Eze, an ally of former Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, said although the Appeal Court voided the Interlocutory injunction issued by a State High Court in Port Harcourt restraining Martins Amaewhule and 24 others from parading themselves as Assembly members, they misinterpreted the other aspects of the ruling.
Eze, in a statement, added that the Court of Appeal did not reinstate Marthins Amaewhule and 24 others as lawmakers, noting that the substance of the matter was never brought to the appellate court, the same having not been heard by the court below.
He added: “With the Appellate Court’s verdict, the matter would be re-litigated at the Federal High Court which is the court clothed with the requisite jurisdiction to entertain the matter.”
According to Eze, “Victor Oko Jumbo remains the legitimate Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, and that in effect, the worst Marthin Amaewhule and others can make out of the ruling is to continue to wallow in illegality which does not affect the legitimacy of Oko-Jumbo as Speaker.”
Continuing, he said: “As a matter of fact, Former Speaker, Edison Ehie, in line with due process of law, declared the seats of Martins Amaewhule and others vacant upon their defection from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) the political organization on which platform they were elected, to the All Progressives Congress for no verifiable, cogent reason and till date no court have voided this stand.
“The constitution is clear and unambiguous and needs no interpretation to the effect that upon their defection, the former Speaker, Amaewhule and his colleagues automatically lost their seats and the verdict of the Appeal Court did not invalidate the action of Rt. Hon. Edison Ehie declaring their seats vacant or void their exit from the PDP – as they have turned around to claim they never left the party.”
Eze called on supporters of the FCT Minister not to deliberately sugarcoat the position of the court as a window to cause crisis in the state as the seats of Amaewhule and others remain vacant until a competent court declares otherwise, which is unlikely.
The APC chief also appealed to law-abiding citizens of Rivers State to be calm, and peaceful and not give in to the plot of those he called confused Ex-Lawmakers to ignite anarchy in the State to achieve their sinister aim of declaration of State of emergency.
Eze said the Rivers Assembly Speaker, Oko-Jumbo and his colleagues are on the right path for taking the matter further to the Supreme Court even though the ruling of the Appeal Court did not reinstate Amaewhule and others.