Pro-Wike lawmakers no longer PDP members, Rivers AG insists

The Rivers State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Dagogo Iboroma (SAN), restated on Wednesday that the 27 members of the state Assembly loyal to ex-governor Nyesom Wike are no longer members of the Peoples Democratic Party.

Iboroma said the lawmakers, led by the Speaker,  Martin Amaewhule, had last year defected to the All Progressives Congress and ceased to be PDP members.

He added that having defected from the PDP to the APC they had lost their seat as members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

Iboroma, in a statement on Wednesday, said contrary to reports, the Certified True Copy of a Monday judgment by the Rivers State High Court, validated the position that Amaewhule and his colleagues were no longer PDP members.

He blamed the media for what he described as a misrepresentation of the judgment delivered by Justice Okogbule Gbasam.

Iboroma said, “Yesterday (Tuesday) I briefed the press and made the point that there is a misrepresentation of the judgment of the High Court of Rivers State in Suit No. DHC/20/CS/2024 in social, print, and electronic media.

“My position has been confirmed and vindicated by the Certified True Copy of the court order in Suit No. DHC/20/CS/2024.”

Iboroma stated that a court order embodied the enforceable decisions of a court, adding that in this case in focus, the enforceable orders of the court would necessarily entail the specific pronouncements of the court.

He listed the three orders of the court in the judgment to include: “That this suit be and is hereby dismissed/struck out for want of jurisdiction.

“That the Peoples Democratic Party be and is hereby joined as 4th defendant. That the claimants’ case be and is hereby dismissed for lacking in merit.”

He added, “Contrary to the false claims and misrepresentation in social, print and electronic media, the court did not make a declaration that Martin Amaewhule is the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, neither did it make a declaration that Martin Amaewhule and 26 others are members of the Rivers State House of Assembly and the Peoples Democratic Party.

“If it were so, it would have been embodied in the court orders, which have been circulated to you all and displayed by me here for the purpose of clarity.”

Iboroma regretted that the deliberate ‘misrepresentation’ of Monday’s court was painted in a bad light and the public was misled with such misinformation.

He said: “Whatever finding of fact that is not included in the court order is an Obiter Dictum, which has no binding force.

“Once again, I respectively urge the media to desist from giving any interpretation to any judgment without first reading the content of the judgment and seeking legal advice,” the attorney general added.