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The Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Victor Oko-Jumbo has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct bye-elections to fill the 27 vacant seats left by defected members of the Assembly.

Oko-Jumbo made the appeal during a press conference in Port Harcourt on Friday.

According to him, the legal barrier preventing INEC from proceeding with the bye-election has now been resolved.

The crisis began when Martin Chike Amaewhule and 26 other Assembly members voluntarily defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) on December 11, 2023, without any legitimate cause. This defection followed the members’ failed attempt to impeach Governor Siminalayi Fubara on October 30, 2023.

To prevent INEC from conducting bye-elections, Amaewhule and 26 others filed Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1681/2023 against INEC and others on December 13, 2023, securing an Interlocutory Injunction restraining INEC from filling the Assembly’s 27 vacant seats.

On October 30, 2024, Amaewhule and the other lawmakers withdrew the suit, which the court subsequently struck out. “With the case now struck out, the injunction against INEC conducting a bye-election has been lifted,” the Speaker said.

He added, “As the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, I formally urge INEC to proceed with the bye-elections to fill the 27 vacant seats without further delay.”