The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has called on Governor Siminalayi Fubara to steer clear of actions that could heighten the political unrest in the state.
Tony Okocha, the chairman of the party’s caretaker committee in the state, delivered the charge during a news briefing conducted in Port Harcourt.
Okocha commented on the ex parte order issued to factional Speaker Mr. Ediso Ehie, emphasizing the restriction placed on PDP lawmakers Martin Amaewhule and Dumle Maol, preventing them from moving the assembly’s “activities and meetings” to a more secure venue.
According to Africa Today News, New York, Amaewhule and Maol maintain their claims to the Speakership and Deputy Speakership of the House.
The ex parte order was granted by Justice M.W. Danagogo, who presides over a High Court in Port Harcourt.
The order also restrained Amaewhule from “disrupting and interfering” with Ehie’s activities, pending the determination of the motion on notice.
The court also warned against the use of thugs and police by Amaewhule to forcefully gain access to the premises of the state House of Assembly Complex.
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The court ordered the relocation of the house ‘to a secure and more conducive environment to ensure that the activities and meetings of the house are not disrupted during the period of the renovation of the burnt building, pending the determination of the hearing of the motion already filed.’
Ehie, in response to the destruction of the assembly complex on October 29, had been overseeing the activities of the house outside the premises.
The APC chairman voiced concern about Danagogo’s order that acknowledged Ehie as the speaker, especially since judgment on Ehie’s suit seeking recognition was reserved for January 2024.
He argued that issuing an ex parte order on a case with reserved judgment amounted to an abuse of court processes.
Okocha stressed that the APC would not passively observe the execution of the ex parte order, alleging that it was issued in clear violation of established legal principles and a breach of the National Judicial Council (NJC) law.
He explained that the apprehension over the potential mass defection of 27 out of the 31 PDP lawmakers to the APC prompted the obtaining of an ex parte order, facilitating the governor’s presentation of the 2024 budget estimates to the assembly.
He questioned the legitimacy of how the 2024 Appropriation Bill would be received by the three remaining members of the house, along with Ehie.
Unless the judge promptly reversed his decision, Okocha mentioned that the party would be left with no option but to file a petition with the NJC.
He declared that the state APC would not condone any form of intimidation or harassment directed at its new members.
He explained the rationale behind the December 11 defection of PDP members to the APC, citing an “irreconcilable crisis in the PDP” and asserting that the move was backed by a section of the country’s Constitution.