[By Abigail Philip David]
Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Victor Oko-Jumbo, who is aligned with Governor Siminalayi Fubara, has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a by-election to fill the 27 vacant seats in the State Assembly following the defection of members.
Oko-Jumbo emphasized that with the recent lifting of a legal injunction that had previously restricted INEC from holding the by-election, there is now a clear path for the process to proceed.
Speaking at a press conference in Port Harcourt on Friday, the Speaker noted that Martin Chike Amaewhule and 26 other lawmakers had voluntarily defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) on December 11, 2023, without any justifiable reason.
“The only obstacle preventing INEC from holding a by-election to fill these 27 vacant seats was an Interlocutory Injunction. Now that Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1681/2023 has been dismissed, the injunction no longer applies,” Oko-Jumbo stated.
“As the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, I now call on INEC to promptly conduct a by-election to fill the 27 seats,” he concluded.
