Rivers Assembly Recalls Three Fubara Loyalists After Apology

The Rivers State House of Assembly has reinstated three lawmakers loyal to Governor Siminalayi Fubara after accepting their letters of apology and reversing its earlier decision to declare their seats vacant.

The lawmakers are Victor Oko-Jumbo, representing Bonny Constituency; Sokari Goodboy Sokari, representing Ahoada West Constituency; and Orubienimigha Timothy, representing Opobo/Nkoro Constituency.

Their reinstatement followed a plenary session on Monday, during which members voted in favour of rescinding the decision taken against them.

Politics Nigeria reports that the development was announced in a statement issued by Martins Wachukwu, media aide to the Speaker of the House, Martin Chike Amaewhule.

The statement, titled “Rivers Assembly Rescinds Decision on 3 Vacant Seats,” explained that the lawmakers had appealed to the Assembly and expressed regret over their failure to resume legislative duties after their suspension was lifted.

According to the statement, the three lawmakers submitted separate letters of appeal to the Speaker.

Their letters were read during the House’s 68th Legislative Sitting of the Fourth Session of the Tenth Assembly.

“In their separate letters of appeal read by the Speaker at plenary, the trio expressed deep apologies to the House, claiming that they failed to resume sitting with their colleagues because they had not received correspondence informing them that their suspension, imposed on October 30, 2023, was lifted on December 20, 2023, following presidential intervention.”

The lawmakers maintained that they had not received official communication informing them that the suspension had been lifted.

Their explanation formed part of the arguments considered by the Assembly before reaching its decision.

Members who participated in the debate supported the appeals and called on the House to reconsider its earlier resolution declaring the three seats vacant.

Following the deliberations, Amaewhule put the motion to a vote, and the lawmakers present voted in favour of reversing the decision.

The Speaker subsequently directed the reinstated lawmakers to return to the Assembly and resume their legislative responsibilities, allowing them to continue representing their respective constituencies.

Wachukwu’s statement also addressed Amaewhule’s position on the appeals.

The Speaker reportedly said investigations suggested that the lawmakers might not have received the correspondence notifying them of the lifting of their suspension, as they had claimed.

Amaewhule, however, stressed that the decision was guided by the law rather than the emotions surrounding the dispute.

The statement quoted him as emphasising that legal matters must be handled with fairness, irrespective of the status of the individuals involved.

The reversal brings an end, at least at the legislative level, to the dispute over the status of the three lawmakers, whose seats had been declared vacant in October 2024 after the Assembly accused them of failing to participate in its proceedings without sufficient justification.

The circumstances surrounding their suspension date back to the political crisis that erupted in Rivers State in October 2023.

The dispute involved Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, who remains a major political figure in the state and currently serves as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.

During the crisis, divisions emerged within the state legislature, with lawmakers taking opposing positions amid the growing disagreement between the governor and Wike.

The disagreement affected the workings of the Assembly and contributed to the wider political tension across the state.

According to the Assembly’s account, four lawmakers were suspended during the 84th Legislative Sitting of the First Session of the Tenth Assembly on October 30, 2023.

Their suspension was subsequently lifted on December 20, 2023, following presidential intervention and a meeting aimed at resolving the political dispute.

However, the Assembly said the three lawmakers failed to return to legislative sittings after the suspension was lifted.

It maintained that their continued absence from plenary and other legislative activities necessitated further action.

On October 15, 2024, during its 56th Legislative Sitting of the Second Session, the House resolved to declare their seats vacant.

It cited Sections 109(1)(e), 109(1)(f) and 109(2) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as the legal basis for the decision.

The Assembly also notified the Independent National Electoral Commission of the vacancies and requested that elections be conducted to fill the seats.

The latest resolution reverses that earlier decision following the lawmakers’ appeals and the Assembly’s acceptance of their explanation for not returning to work.

Politics Nigeria reported that the Assembly’s decision came a day after Wike led members of the Rivers State House of Assembly and the 23 local government chairmen to a meeting with Fubara at the governor’s private residence.

The meeting reportedly began at about 4:30 p.m. on Sunday and was held behind closed doors.

Those reported to have been involved in the meeting included Wike, members of a reconciliation committee led by Senator Magnus Abe, and members of the Rainbow Coalition.

The discussions were said to have focused on addressing outstanding disagreements between the two political figures.

Politics Nigeria earlier reported that Wike has been appointed coordinator of President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 presidential campaign council in Rivers State and the Federal Capital Territory.

Although details of the discussions at Fubara’s residence were not made public, the timing of the meeting and the Assembly’s subsequent decision have drawn attention to ongoing reconciliation efforts within the state’s political establishment.

However, the available information does not establish that the lawmakers’ reinstatement was a direct outcome of the Sunday meeting.