RIVERS (Sundiata Post) – The factional Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Victor Oko-Jumbo, has dismissed the resolution passed by the pro-Wike faction led by Martin Amaewhule, which claimed to have barred Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the state government from withdrawing money from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the state.
In his opening speech before the start of legislative business at plenary on Tuesday in Port Harcourt, Oko-Jumbo questioned the basis of such a resolution by Amaewhule and his colleagues when their seats had been declared vacant on 13 December 2023, when Edison Ehie was then the “duly” recognised Speaker of the 10th Rivers State House of Assembly.
The pro-Fubara lawmakers’ reaction follows their rivals’ resolution on Monday, when they declared the Rivers State Consolidated Revenue Fund closed until the governor presents the 2024 Appropriation Bill before the Amaewhule-led faction.
The pro-Wike lawmakers, in a letter addressed to the state governor regarding their decision, also put some authorities on notice of the Assembly’s resolution.
However, in reaction to the anti-Fubara lawmakers’ decision, Oko-Jumbo stated: “The House states as follows: On the 11th day of December 2023, at the 87th legislative sitting of the House, former Speaker Martin Amaewhule and 24 other former members defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“By virtue of Section 109(1)(g) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution, which are self-executing, and consequent upon their defection, on the 13th day of December 2023, Rt. Hon. Edison Ogerenye Ehie, DSSRS, Esq, PhD, as the then duly recognised Speaker of the 10th Rivers State House of Assembly, by virtue of a court order granted by Hon. Justice Danagogo on the 12th day of December 2023, in Suit No. PHC/3030/CS/2023, and pursuant to Section 109(2) of the 1999 Constitution, declared their seats vacant.”
The speaker, therefore, said it was laughable to have heard and seen the news of the illegal sitting of the 25 former members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, led by Martin Amaewhule, on television screens and social media on 16 July 2024.
He noted that in the circulated news, it was stated that Amaewhule and his colleagues had passed a resolution stating that Governor Siminalayi Fubara is not permitted to authorise the withdrawal of money from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the state.
Oko-Jumbo said the resolution further threatened that the House would declare a shutdown on expenditures until an Appropriation Bill for the 2024 fiscal year is presented and passed by the House.
He also stated that the resolution directed the governor to desist from further authorising withdrawals from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the state, while directing all Rivers State government ministries, commissions, agencies, departments, and extra-ministerial departments to desist from spending taxpayers’ funds until the 2024 Appropriation Bill is presented to the former lawmakers.
But the factional Speaker insisted: “Consequent upon constitutional provisions and the declaration of their seats vacant, the recognised 10th Rivers State House of Assembly is the one led by Rt. Hon. Victor Oko-Jumbo.
“Thus, the Rivers State Government has ceased paying any form of salaries, allowances, or statutory remunerations to the former members.
“The 10th Rivers State House of Assembly, which is the legitimate House under the leadership of Rt. Hon. Victor Oko-Jumbo, is the only one recognised by law and the Rivers State Government, and thus, has been receiving all statutory allocations due to the House of Assembly.
“And it has been discharging its financial obligations by paying the salaries of the recognised Honourable members of the House, their aides, and allowances of the public servants in the Rivers State House of Assembly.”
Oko-Jumbo said Amaewhule and the 24 ex-lawmakers had hinged their resolution on Section 122 of the 1999 Constitution, which empowers a state governor to continue to make appropriations for six months from the budget of the previous fiscal year if, for any reason, he was unable to present an Appropriation Bill to the House.
“He noted: “May I remind the defected members that His Excellency, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, GSSRS, presented the 2024 Appropriation Bill to the Rivers State House of Assembly, under the leadership of the then Speaker, Rt. Hon. Edison Ogerenye Ehie, DSSRS.
“And it was duly passed on the 13th day of December 2023, and assented to on the 14th day of December 2023.”
Oko-Jumbo said further: “This House awaits to receive from His Excellency, the presentation of the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) for the next three financial years, pursuant to Section 10 of the Rivers State Fiscal Responsibility Law, No 8 of 2010, in order to prepare for the 2025 fiscal year.
“The general public is, therefore, called upon to disregard and ignore those misguided former members, and also discountenance their illegal actions.
“I once again call on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to expedite preparations towards conducting a bye-election to fill the vacant seats created in the Rivers State House of Assembly by the defection of Martin Amaewhule and 24 others.”
Oko-Jumbo explained that the position of the authentic Rivers State House of Assembly has been communicated to Professor Ngozi Odu, the Deputy Governor of Rivers State; the Secretary to the Rivers State Government; the Head of the Civil Service of Rivers State; the Accountant-General; and the Auditor-General of Rivers State.
Other institutions that have also been communicated with, Oko-Jumbo said, include the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria; the Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission; the Accountant-General of the Federation; the Group Managing Director/CEO, Zenith Bank PLC; and the Managing Director/CEO of Access Bank Group.
At the commencement of legislative business, the member representing Opobo/Nkoro State Constituency and Deputy Speaker, Adolphus Orubienimigha, proposed the Rivers State Vocational and Technical Training Institute Bill 2024, which passed its first reading.
The bill seeks to establish a comprehensive training institute where Rivers youths, including women, can learn and acquire industry-based skills to become self-reliant or employable.
Also at plenary, the House, in a statement signed by G. M. Gillis-West, Clerk, Rivers State House of Assembly, Port Harcourt, entertained a motion to Prohibit Public Defecation, proposed by Deputy Speaker, Adolphus Orubienimigha.
The House demanded the declaration of a public health emergency on public defecation to protect public health, the dignity of lives, and ensure environmental responsibility in the state.
The House also received a petition from the Ataba Community in Andoni Local Government Area over an ongoing land dispute between Bonny and Ataba communities.
The speaker referred the petition to the Committee on Public Complaints, headed by the member representing Ahoada West State Constituency and Leader of the House, Sokari Goodboy Sokari.
