Days after the court upturned their suspension from the Rivers House of Assembly, the 25 pro-Wike lawmakers have issued a seven-day ultimatum to the Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, to present the state budget before the house.
The lawmakers led by Martin Amaewhule, stated that the earlier presentation made by the governor before the legislatures loyal to him when his current Chief of Staff, Edison Ehie, presided as the Speaker, is illegal and would not be accepted for the state.
The order issued on Monday followed the first sitting of the pro-Wike lawmakers after the Appeal Court ruled in their favour, ending several weeks of suspension by the Rivers High court
They demanded that the governor represent the budget before the house at the end of their sitting which was held simultaneously with the Pro-Fubara lawmakers led by Victor Oko-Jumbo.
The parallel sitting resulted in palpable tension across the state with the Victor Oko-Jumbo-led House loyal to the State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara inviting a new commissioner-nominee, Emmanuel Frank-Fubara, to appear before it for screening and confirmation as a member box the State Executive Council.
While the pro-Fubara lawmakers holds it sitting in an improvised Hallowed Chamber in the Government House, Port Harcourt, the pro-Wike legislators sit at the State Assembly official quarters along Aba Road, also in the metropolis.
Recall that the State House of Assembly Complex located along Moscow Road, Port Harcourt was bombed in October 2023, following an attempt by 27 lawmakers loyal to the FCT Minister to impeach Fubara.
The pro-Wike lawmakers later during plenary announced their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress as the political crisis in the state deepened following the feud between Fubara and Wike.
The status of the 27 lawmakers is now a subject of litigation as the Court is expected to determine their faith.
