There is anxiety in Rivers State as people await the judgement of the Court of Appeal on the appeal brought before it by House of Assembly Speaker Martins Amaewhule and 24 lawmakers against the ruling of the state High Court.
The ruling would settle the protracted political tussle,claims and counter-claims and restore peace to the oil-rich state.
According to The Nation, the outcome would also determine the fate of the two leaders at the heart of the protracted crisis, Governor Siminialayi Fubara and his alleged benefactor, Chief Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, who are fighting for supremacy in the Rivers Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The interlocutory injunction issued by the High Court in Port Harcourt recognizing Victor Oko-Jumbo as speaker has sparked controversy.
Justice Charles Wali of the State High Court also ordered Amaewhule and 24 others to cease acting as speaker and members of the House of Assembly.
However, Amaewhule and 24 other legislators petitioned the Court of Appeal to overturn the ruling and allow them to resume their duties as state legislators.
The Port Harcourt Court of Appeal, although declining to halt the order's execution, opted to hear the case and render a decision.
The three-member Appeal panel, comprised of Justice Jimi Olukayode Bada, Justice Hamma Akawu, and Justice Balkisu Bello Aliyu, however, directed the parties involved in the issue to maintain the status quo.
However, armed with the interlocutory order, the governor has been carrying out government business with the three-member House of Assembly, chaired by Oko-Jumbo.
The Oko-Jumbo-led Assembly screened and confirmed chairs and members of the caretaker committees of local governments.
However, the elected local government chairmen, whose terms expired on June 17, refused to leave their positions, citing the tenure elongation bill passed by Amaewhule-led MPs.
They claimed that under the new local government law, they were entitled to remain in office for six months to allow the governor to hold fresh local government elections.
They stated that they would not obey the High Court's judgment to repeal the tenure elongation law since it contradicted the Court of Appeal's status quo ante ruling and a previous Federal High Court decision.