Rivers crisis: INEC finally breaks silence on pro Wike's lawmakers and Fubara's lawmakers battle

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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has finally broken its silence over the crisis rocking the Rivers state house of assembly
INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu explained that the silence was due to the conflicting court judgments on the matter
Yakuni said INEC has been following the developments and is seeking the views of Nigerians, especially legal experts on this

Legit.ng journalist Adekunle Dada has over 5 years of experience covering metro, government policy, and international events

FCT, Abuja - The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has attributed its silence to the ongoing crisis in the Rivers State House of Assembly to conflicting court judgments on the matter.

The INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, made the clarification while addressing calls for the commission to intervene.

INEC breaks silence on Rivers Assembly crisis

Yakubu stated this while speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting with media executives at INEC headquarters in Abuja on Friday, November 1.

As reported by The Punch, the INEC boss said the seats of 25 pro-Wike lawmakers were declared vacant by three other lawmakers loyal to Fubara and vice versa.

A faction loyal to Rivers Governor Siminalayi Fubara had urged INEC to conduct a by-election to fill the seats of the pro-FCT minister, Nyesom Wike’s lawmakers.

In the same breath, Wike’s faction also declared vacant the seats of members allied with Fubara.

“After that, there was a court judgment from the Rivers High Court as well as the Federal High Court on the legitimacy of each of these groups of lawmakers.“We at INEC have been following the developments. We do not know what will happen next, and so we are seeking the views of Nigerians, especially legal experts on this.”