Victor Oko-Jumbo and his group of lawmakers have filed an appeal at the Supreme Court challenging the recent judgment by the Appeal Court in Port Harcourt.

Despite the ruling, Oko-Jumbo insists he remains the legitimate Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

The Nation reported that Oko-Jumbo criticized the Appeal Court's decision, arguing that it was wrong to say the Rivers State High Court lacked jurisdiction over the case involving Suit No. PHC/1512/CS/2024. He made this statement during a plenary session on Friday.

He emphasized that there cannot be two Houses of Assembly in Rivers State, asserting that his assembly is the only legitimate one.

He highlighted that the seats of Martin Amaewhule and 24 other former lawmakers were declared vacant after they defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in December 2023.

He noted that a restraining order had been secured against Amaewhule and the others to prevent them from acting as members of the Assembly.

Dissatisfied with the High Court's ruling, Amaewhule and his group appealed, and the Court of Appeal ruled in their favor, stating the High Court lacked jurisdiction. However, Oko-Jumbo pointed out that the Appeal Court did not declare the defectors as members of the Assembly.

Oko-Jumbo confirmed that an appeal has been filed at the Supreme Court to challenge the Appeal Court’s decision. He called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a bye-election to fill the vacant seats and urged the public to disregard Amaewhule and his group.

In Oko-Jumbo's words, “We strongly believe that the Court of Appeal was in error when it held that the Rivers State High Court lacked the jurisdiction to hear and determine the suit."

“Accordingly, we have instructed our lawyers, and they have filed an appeal to the Supreme Court of Nigeria challenging the judgment of the Court of Appeal delivered on July 4, 2024."

“Martin Amaewhule and 24 ORS, in spite of all their pretenses, are no longer members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, and they remain so until a court of competent jurisdiction says otherwise."