Steer clear of Rivers politics, PDP warns APC

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has warned the All Progressives Congress (APC) to steer clear of Rivers state politics.

In December 2023, 27 members of the Rivers house of assembly defected from the PDP to the APC.

On Friday, a state high court in Port Harcourt, the state capital, restrained the defected assembly members from parading themselves as legislators.

The court also granted an interim injunction restraining Martin Amaewhule from parading himself as a speaker of the house.

Before now, Siminalayi Fubara, governor of Rivers, said the existence of members of the assembly is based on his recognition.

But the APC condemned the governor’s statement, describing it as “reckless and a direct affront to the constitution”.

In a statement on Saturday, Debo Ologunagba, the national publicity secretary of the PDP, said the 27 lawmakers who defected to the APC should “admit their miscalculation and bear the inescapable consequences.”

He said the lawmakers’ seats would be vacant until a bye-election is conducted to fill them.

“The former members of the Rivers state house of assembly, for reasons best known to them, wittingly vacated and summarily lost their seats as nothing in the proviso protects or allows them to retain their membership of the Rivers state house of assembly after decamping from the political party upon which they were elected,” he said.

“These former members of the Rivers state house of assembly have only themselves to blame for constitutionally vacating their seats; a course which cannot be reversed or remedied. They should admit their miscalculation and bear the inescapable consequences.

“For the umpteenth time, the PDP cautions the APC to steer clear of Rivers state; it should perish the thoughts of forcefully taking over the state and stop exasperating the public space by seeking to reverse the irreversible.

“The APC should come to terms that with the vacation of seats by the former lawmakers, the quorum of the Rivers state house of assembly will be determined by the number of the remaining lawmakers as provided by law; until a bye-election is conducted to fill the vacancies now existing in the Rivers state house of assembly as a result of the defection by the former members.”