Rivers crisis: Pro-Wike lawmakers have lost their seats, Clark insists

The Convener of the Pan Niger Delta Forum, Chief Edwin Clark, has insisted that the former Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martins Amaewhule, and 27 other pro-Wike lawmakers have lost their seats in the House of Assembly due to their defection to the ruling All Progressives Congress.

In a statement released on Monday, the elder statesman argued that the lawmakers had committed perjury by claiming to be members of the Peoples Democratic Party in one court document and denying their defection in a separate document.

He explained that following the lawmakers’ defection on December 11, 2023, Amaewhule and the 27 others failed to declare their defection to Justice Omotosho in a suit against the leadership of the National Assembly. This action, Clark said, caused their suit in court to die a natural death from that date until today.

The lawmakers later instituted another case against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other bodies before Justice Donatus Okorowo on December 13, 2024, where they admitted in paragraph 9 that they defected to the APC “because of problems or various disagreements in the PDP.”

Clark argued that, due to the conflicting positions in the separate suits, the lawmakers had committed perjury and had thus lost their seats in the Rivers State House of Assembly.

“Now that the former Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martins Amaewhule, and his 27 colleagues have confirmed in a court of law that they defected from the PDP to the APC, they have automatically lost their seats as of December 11, 2023, and are therefore disqualified from bringing any court action on behalf of the Rivers State House of Assembly and its members,” he said.

“Not disclosing their defection to Justice Omotosho’s court shows clearly that the case in Justice Omotosho’s court is null and void and of no effect. Therefore, the judgment allegedly given by Justice Omotosho in suit no: FHC/ABJ/1613/2023 is null and void, and it was a judgment obtained by fraud.”

“Similarly, the three-man panel that sat on Justice Omotosho’s case did not preside over any valid judgment to be reviewed or supervised by the Court of Appeal, because the case was dead long ago. Therefore, they resorted to using unnecessary and insulting language against the Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, which is tactless and uncalled for,” he added.

Clark also alleged that the FCT Minister and the lawmakers were doing everything possible to undermine Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, adding that President Tinubu had failed to call Wike to order. He criticised Wike for having no respect for the Constitution, stating that Nigerians would one day ask the President why he allowed the Minister to breach the Constitution on several occasions.

“He (Wike) wants to bring down the government of Siminalayi Fubara at all costs and without justification. Everybody in Nigeria heard him threatening the government of Siminalayi Fubara, an innocent governor, and the impression is being given that some people are above the law, including the former Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martins Amaewhule, and his 27 colleagues.”

“Mr. President has been called several times to call his Minister to order because a Minister cannot disobey the Constitution of Nigeria, yet Mr. President looks on.”

“We have respectfully appealed to President Bola Tinubu on several occasions to call Nyesom Wike to order or prevent him from breaching the Constitution of Nigeria, but unfortunately, Mr. President has failed to carry out his duty as the number one citizen of this country.”

“Nyesom Wike, who is a serving Minister in President Bola Tinubu’s government, has no regard or respect for the Constitution of Nigeria. Mr. President may one day be asked by patriotic Nigerians why he allowed Nyesom Wike to breach the Constitution of Nigeria on several occasions,” the statement stated.