The Convener of the Pan Niger Delta Forum, Edwin Clark, has questioned President Bola Tinubu’s silence on the ongoing political crisis in Rivers State, particularly the status of former Speaker Martins Amaewhule and 27 other pro-Wike lawmakers in the Rivers State House of Assembly.
In a statement released on Monday, the elder statesman insisted that the lawmakers, who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), had lost their seats by law.
Clark accused the lawmakers of perjury, citing conflicting claims in separate court documents filed after their defection on December 11, 2023.
According to him, the failure of Amaewhule and the others to declare their defection in an earlier case before Justice Omotosho against the leadership of the National Assembly rendered the suit invalid.
He added that in a subsequent case filed on December 13, 2024, before Justice Donatus Okorowo, the lawmakers openly admitted their defection to the APC, which further highlighted the inconsistencies in their legal arguments.
The elder statesman argued that by law, lawmakers who defect from the party on which they were elected automatically lose their seats unless they can prove a division or crisis within their original party.
He said, “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.
“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.”
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 said.
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