A factional speaker of Rivers State House of Assembly loyal to Governor Siminalayi Fubara on Wednesday, December 13, declared the seats of the 27 members of the House, who recently defected to the All Progressives vacant.
The 27 legislators who supported Nyesom Wike, the minister of the Federal Capital Territory, recently dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in an effort to remove the state governor.
The affected lawmakers were not present at the sitting where their seats were declared vacant.
The four-member Assembly announced that the decision to declare the seats vacant was by Section 109 (1) (g) and 2 of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended.
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After reading the names of the impacted legislators, the speaker urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to hold new elections within the legally mandated window of time to occupy the roles.
He said: “Distinguished colleagues, the House will duly inform the Independent National Electoral Commission of the vacancies in the Rivers State House of Assembly and indeed, conduct a fresh election to fill the above vacancies.”