Citizens of Rivers State are understandably waiting with bated breath for the Court of Appeal's ruling in a case in which twenty-four lawmakers, including House of Assembly Speaker Martins Amaewhule, contested the state High Court's decision. Peace would finally be restored to the oil-rich state as the long political disagreement, claims, and counter-claims were eventually addressed by the verdict.
The Nation reports that a number of prominent Rivers citizens, including Head of State Siminialayi Fubara and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, Chief Nyesom Wike, are vying for positions of leadership within the PJP. Victor Oko-Jumbo has been formally recognized as speaker after the High Court in Port Harcourt granted an interlocutory injunction, which has sparked controversy.
Also, Amaewhule and twenty-four others were forced to resign as speaker and members of the House of Assembly by Justice Charles Wali of the State High Court. But Amaewhule and twenty-four other state lawmakers asked the Court of Appeal to overturn the decision so they could get back to work. The Port Harcourt Court of Appeal decided to hear the matter and render a ruling even though they did not opt to halt the order's execution.
Jimi Olukayode Bada, Hamma Akawu, and Balkisu Bello Aliyu made up the three-person Appeal panel, and they all agreed that nothing should change. With the interim order in hand, however, the governor has been holding formal meetings with the three-member House of Assembly, with Oko-Jumbo serving as its presiden. Carefully vetting candidates for local government caretaker committees, the Oko-Jumbo-led Assembly permitted them to serve.
Incidentally, the elected chairmen of local governments whose terms concluded on June 17 have chosen not to retire but rather to reiterate the tenure elongation law that was voted by the members of parliament representing Amaewhule.
According to their arguments, the governor can now convene new elections for the position, and they can stay in office for a further six months thanks to the new local government statute. Since the High Court's decision to abolish the tenure elongation statute ran against to earlier rulings by the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal, which had likewise supported the status quo, they made it plain that they would not adhere to the verdict.