The Federal High Court in Port Harcourt has scheduled April 16, 2025, as the date for its verdict on a suit challenging the defection of 27 lawmakers from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The case, filed by the Labour Party (LP), seeks a declaration that the lawmakers’ seats be vacated due to their defection. The LP also urged the court to reject the lawmakers’ plea, which referenced a Supreme Court ruling in their favor.
During the hearing on March 17, 2025, the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martins Amaewhule, asked the court to dismiss the case, citing the Certified True Copy of a Supreme Court judgment that reaffirmed his leadership.
Amaewhule’s legal team argued that Governor Siminalayi Fubara, who initially challenged the lawmakers’ defection, had already withdrawn a related case from the Federal High Court in Abuja.
However, LP’s counsel, Clifford Chukwu, maintained that the Supreme Court did not directly rule on the defection issue but only referenced it as a collateral matter. He insisted that evidence of the lawmakers’ defection was already before the court and urged it to proceed with the case.
On February 28, 2025, the Supreme Court ruled that there was no concrete proof that the lawmakers had officially left the PDP for the APC. It ordered that the status quo be maintained regarding the state assembly’s composition.
The court also ruled that state funds would remain frozen until Governor Fubara presents the appropriation bill to the legally recognized House of Assembly.
After the court proceedings, LP’s legal counsel, Clifford Chukwu, emphasized that the final decision on whether the lawmakers will retain their seats or be removed rests with the court’s ruling on April 16.
The political crisis in Rivers State has escalated over control of the state’s leadership structure, with Governor Fubara and FCT Minister Nyesom Wike locked in a power struggle. The 27 lawmakers at the center of the case are widely considered Wike loyalists.
