According to a report from DAILY POST, the G60 members of the House of Representatives have declared that the recent judgment of the Court of Appeal on the Rivers State House of Assembly did not reinstate the 27 sacked lawmakers.
The group, led by Ikenga Ugochinyere, made this clarification shortly after the ruling was delivered, stating that the Appeal Court's decision did not void the dismissal of the pro-Wike lawmakers.
"The Court of Appeal ruling today shouldn't be misconstrued in any way. The pro-Wike sacked Rivers lawmakers' seats remain vacant as the Appeal Court didn't decide on the validity of their illegal decampment nor the declaration of their seats vacant," Ugochinyere told journalists at the National Assembly.
The controversy stems from a previous ruling by the Rivers State High Court, which had ordered the removal of the 27 lawmakers loyal to former Governor Nyesom Wike.
The court had decided that the lawmakers had lost their seats due to their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
However, the Court of Appeal has now ruled that the Rivers State High Court lacked the jurisdiction to make such a decision, stating that the Federal High Court is the only court with the authority to determine the legality or illegality of such a defection.
Ugochinyere, speaking on behalf of the G60 group, clarified that the Appeal Court's verdict did not reinstate the sacked lawmakers.
"The Appeal Court focused on declaring that the Federal High Court is the only court with the jurisdiction to decide on the legality or illegality of decampment, thereby ruling against the Rivers High Court proceedings," he said.