Rivers State Commissioner for Justice and Attorney General, Dagogo Iboroma, clarified that the Supreme Court did not reinstate Martin Amaewhule and 26 others as members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
During a media briefing in Port Harcourt, Iboroma stated that various social media interpretations of the court ruling were misleading. He emphasized that the Supreme Court only dismissed Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s appeal because it was no longer relevant, as the 2024 Appropriation Law had already been fully implemented and replaced by the 2025 budget.
He explained that Amaewhule and the other lawmakers lost their seats on December 11, 2023, when they defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC). However, their defection was not a subject of determination in the Supreme Court case.
Iboroma stressed:
The Supreme Court did not rule on the lawmakers’ reinstatement.
The case was about the 2024 budget, which is no longer in effect.
The public should ignore false narratives about the ruling.
He urged the public to disregard misinformation, particularly claims that the court restored the defected lawmakers to their seats.
