The court ruling that prevented Martins Amaewhule and Dumle Maol from presenting themselves as Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly has been criticised by the All Progressives Congress, or APC, in Rivers State.
Judge M.W. Danagogo of the State High Court in Port Harcourt ruled on Tuesday that Edison Ehie was the legitimate Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
Tony Okocha, the Chairman of the APC’s Caretaker Committee in Rivers State, responded to the situation by calling the order an abuse of the legal system.
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Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Okocha claimed that the National Judicial Commission, or NJC, had warned against the move, claiming that Justice Danagogo’s order was intended to give Governor Siminalayi Fubara the chance to present the N800 billion budget to four members of the House of Assembly.
He issued a warning, saying that no one would be allowed to harass, threaten, or degrade members of the APC in the state.
“Today, Rivers State people woke up to hear that one Justice Danagogo of the Rivers State High Court, granted with impunity, an ex parte order to one Honorable Edison Ehie, recognizing him as Speaker, Rivers State House of Assembly.
“It wil be recalled that the same Edison had approached a Federal High Court in Rivers State, seeking for be declared as Speaker.
“In the case in the issue, arguments had been taken and judgement reserved for January 2023.
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“Surprisingly today on same subject matter, Justice Danagogo granted an ex parte order our outing to recognize Honorable Edison as Speaker of Rivers State House of Assembly.
“This is fragrant abuse of court processes. The Judge claimed that the case which was filed by Honorable Edison on 30th of October, 2023 and assigned to him on the first of November 2023, for all this length of time, if it was urgent why did the judge wait till today December 12, 2023 to grant an ex parte order?”
In the event that the verdict is not promptly overturned, he threatened to petition the NJC on behalf of the judge.
Okocha, who also serves as the representative for Rivers State on the Niger Delta Development Commission’s (NDDC) Management Board, counselled Fubara against taking any steps that might heighten the political unrest in the state, which is being directed by his political party, the PDP.
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