A suit brought forward by various civil society organizations (CSOs) in Rivers State against 27 members of the State Assembly, with Martins Amaewhule as the leader, has been adjourned by a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt to May 3, 2024.
Among the respondents named in the lawsuit are Governor Siminalayi Fubara, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and the Attorney General of Rivers State. The primary concern addressed by the CSOs is whether legislators in the Rivers State House of Assembly, who switched from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC), maintain their legitimacy as representatives of their respective constituencies as defined by Section 109 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Furthermore, the CSOs are urging the court to prohibit Fubara from presenting the 2024 budget to the members of the Assembly led by Amaewhule, who are alleged to have forfeited their seats by defecting from the PDP to the APC.
During the last hearing held on Friday, the clerk of the court notified the involved parties of the unavailability of Justice Stephen Dalyopam, which led to the decision to adjourn the proceedings to a later date for a comprehensive hearing.