In the interim, until the suit before it is heard, a Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt has issued an order prohibiting the factional Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Martins Amaewhule, and his deputy, Hon. Dumle Maol, from forcibly entering the Assembly complex.
In Suit No./PHC/3030/CS/2023, the House of Assembly and Speaker, Rt. Hon. Edison Ehie, had petitioned the court, requesting, among other things, an exparte order prohibiting the first and second respondents in the case, Amaewhule and Maol, from forcibly entering the Assembly premises.
On Monday, on the House floor, 27 members of the Assembly, led by Amaewhule, declared their switch from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The primary cause of the MPs' defection, according to the minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, was the division inside the PDP's national heirarchy.
But the factional Speaker and his deputy were also ordered by the State High Court, presided over by Hon. Justice M.W. Danagogo, to refrain from interfering with the operations of the Rivers State House of Assembly until the lawsuit was heard.
The court declared that the persistent forcible entry into the House of Assembly complex which was set on fire by suspected arsonists on October 29, 2023 was against Governor Siminalayi Fubara's orders. Governor Fubara had furnished a suitable venue for the lawmakers to convene while renovations at the Assembly complex were being completed.
The lawsuit was postponed by the court until December 21, 2023, so that a new move on notice could be heard.
