Rivers Crisis: Tonye Cole Calls On Ada-George, Patience Jonathan, Others To Intervene

Former Governorship candidate of All Progressives Congress, APC, Pastor Tonye Cole has called for the intervention of prominent citizens of Rivers State to resolve the seemingly intractable political crisis in the state.
Cole, who spoke in view of the renewed hostilities between the two warring political factions, named former Rivers State Governor, Chief Rufus Ada George, Chairman of Stanbic IBTC Group, Mr. Atedo Peterside, wife of former President of Nigeria, Mrs. Patience Jonathan and founder of Salvation Ministries, Pastor David Ibiyeomie, as people he felt could sufficiently sit leaderships down and get them to sheathe their swords.
During the week, the warring factions of the House of Assembly met at different places and declared the seats of members of the opposing factions vacant. While the faction led by Bright Amaehule declared the seats of the four members of the Victor Oko-Jumbo vacant and called on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to conduct elections to fill their seats, the Oko-Jumbo faction renewed an earlier call for INEC to conduct election to fill the vacant seats of the 27 members in the Martin Amaewhule faction.
The Amaehule camp, which on Tuesday gave Governor Fubara another opportunity to re-present the 2024 budget to it for consideration and approval, declared vacant the seats of Hon. Edison Ogerenye Ehie, Hon. Victor Oko Jombo, Hon. Adolphus Timothy Oruibienimigha and Hon. Sokari Goodboy Sokari, representing Ahoada East II, Bonny, Opobo/Nkoro and Ahoada West Constituency respectively.
The motion was moved by the House Leader, Hon. Major Jack and co-sponsored by 25 other Members. It said that the seats of these four members were “declared vacant for their continued refusal or failure to attend and participate in Legislative meetings of the House, without just cause for a period amounting in aggregate, to more than one-third of the total number of days the House met in the First Session of the Tenth Assembly and for also being absent in the past fifty -six legislative sittings of the Second Session.”
Amaewhule recalled that after the peace parley that they held at the instance of the President, the House withdrew its impeachment notice on the Governor and noted the four suspended Members, had refused to attend sittings of the House.
Amaewhule reiterated that given the fact the Court of Appeal upheld all the injunctive orders given by the Federal High Court, Governor Siminialayi Fubara is again enjoined to present the 2024 Appropriate Bill to the House.
Meanwhile the Oko-Jumbo led faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly restated its resolution that the seats of former Speaker, Martin Chike Amaewhule and 24 others remained vacant following their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), and must be filled through bye-elections conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
In a statement signed by Oko-Jumbo, the 25 Legislative seats were declared vacant on December 13, 2023, by the then recognised Speaker, Rt. Hon. Edison Ehie, and regretted that the commission has been foot-dragging on the conduct of bye-elections to fill the vacant seats.
He said that the inability of INEC to hold elections to fill the vacant seats since December 13, 2023, has created room for unnecessary distractions from Amaewhule and his committee of friends, and called on the commission to discharge its constitutional responsibilities to the people of the State.
He said, “Please, recall that on the 11th day of December, 2023, Martin Chike Amaewhule and 24 others defected from the Peoples Democratic Party that sponsored their election into the Rivers State House of Assembly, to the All Progressives Congress. Their defection was headline news and widely reported in print and electronic media.
“On the 13th day of December, 2023, Rt. Honourable Edison Ogerenye Ehie, as then Speaker, declared the seats of Martin Chike Amaewhule and 24 others in the Rivers State House of Assembly vacant, and called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct bye-election to fill their vacant legislative seats. This has not been challenged and set aside by any court of law.
“Subsequently, I was elected as the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly. Myself and the Members of the Rivers State House of Assembly have been piloting the affairs of the Rivers State House of Assembly, including passing resolutions and screening various eminent persons as commissioner-nominees and recommending them to His Excellency, the Governor of Rivers State to be appointed and sworn-in as Commissioners, among others.
“I call on INEC to immediately conduct bye-election to fill the legislative seats declared vacant on December 13, 2023. I also call on Nigerians and the good people of Rivers State in particular, to ignore the vituperations and ranting of Martin Chike Amaewhule and his committee of friends.
“They are not members of the Rivers State House of Assembly not to talk of having the powers to declare vacant the legislative seats of legitimate Assembly members, who have remained steadfast and did not defect like them”, he added.