Rivers State: 27 lawmakers stand by move
The 27 legislators of the Rivers State House of Assembly, who defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC), said their actions were constitutional.
Martins Amaewhule, their leader and factional speaker, said the internal wrangling within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) informed their move. He explained that Section 109(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution allows their defection on the grounds of internal party division.
Amaewhule said the PDP was complacent in the crisis.
“The party never said anything when the House of Assembly was burnt down. They neither made any official statement in that regards nor condemned the act.
“A whole hallowed chamber of a state legislature was burnt down. The party never condemned it. No written statement, no official statement. That shows that they were not interested in what was going on in the House of Assembly,” Amaewhule said.
At the same time, the APC has welcomed the defectors to its fold. The party described itself as a “party for the common man” and praised the lawmakers for their choice.
The PDP has been polarised due to the disagreement between Governor Sim Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike. As part of the fallouts, two factions of the state assembly has emerged, with Edison Ehie leading another faction comprising four members.
Wike, currently minister of federal capital territory (FCT), accused his handpicked protege of working to upstage his ‘political structure’ and hobnobbing with his political foes. Speaking during a worship held at the Niger Delta North Diocese of the Anglican Church, in Rivers, at the weekends, Wike said admonished his successor.
”It is unwise for anyone to pull the ladder that he used in climbing. When you are coming down, the ladder may not be there. Leave the ladder so that other people can also climb with it,” Wike said in a statement couched in innuendoes.
