The Speaker of River state House of Assembly Edison Ehie, has declared the seats of 27 lawmakers who defected to APC from the PDP vacant.
Ehie, who leads a five-member group loyal to Governor Siminalayi Fubara, declared vacant the seats of all the
lawmakers in the Martins Amaewhule-led group.
Ehie took the decision on Wednesday when his group met at a venue provided for them by governor Fubara inside the government house following the demolition of the Assembly Complex by the state government.
The governor also presented the N800bn 2024 budget estimates to the Ehie-led group at the Government House the same moment the demolition of the Assembly Complex was carried out.
The Rivers State Executive Council had earlier approved the budget tagged the ‘Budget of Renewed Hope, Consolidation and Continuity’
The 27 members were said to be loyal to Amaewhule, who is an ally of Nyesom Wike, a former governor of the state till May 29, 2023.
The defection of the lawmakers was said to be a direct response to a mass exodus of some grassroot politicians from the APC and Social Democratic Party (SDP) to the PDP last weekend.
The crisis in the 32-member Assembly had begun as a result of a rift between Fubara and his predecessor, Wike.
In October, the Assembly under Amaewhule served an impeachment notice on Fubara and removed Ehie as the House leader. However, some members of the Assembly loyal to Fubara immediately impeached Amaewhule and made Ehie the new Speaker.
