Rivers: 27 lawmakers loyal to Wike gone, I’ll soon present 2025 budget – Fubara

Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara on Wednesday declared that the embattled members of the state House of Assembly loyal to the immediate past governor, Nyesom Wike are gone.

DAILY POST recalls that due to the political crisis rocking the state, the seats of the 27 lawmakers who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP to the All Progressives Congress, APC, were declared vacant.

A Federal High Court in Rivers State had also ordered the Martin Amaewhule-led lawmakers to stop parading themselves as members of the state Assembly.

However, the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on Wednesday last week, reinstated the lawmakers after dismissing the ruling of the lower court.

The judgement was delivered by a three-member panel of the appellate court led by Jimi Olukayode-Bada.

Subsequently, the Victor Oko-Jumbo, led faction of the assembly and loyal to Governor Fubara, said it has filed an appeal at the Supreme Court to challenge the judgement of the Appeal Court.

However, speaking when the people of Ogbakor Etche paid him a solidarity visit in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, Governor Fubara insisted that the lawmakers are gone.

He said, “They think that we are still sleeping but let me tell you people so that they will hear wherever they are. I sincerely wanted to help them and I have said this before.

“These are people that I have helped. I paid their children’s school fees, I paid their house rents. My father was already a shell officer from 2005 when I started working on finance.

“Before I started working here, I was even a shell manager, so I wasn’t a beggar, I had enough that I could eat and extend to people.

“I wanted to help them. We all know what happened when they crossed and they crossed because of our God so that they can make that mistake. They are gone and they are gone.”

The governor also revealed that he is currently working on the 2025 budget which would be presented before the Victor Oko-Jumbo-led assembly soon.

“As I am talking to you, I have started preparing my budget for 2025 which I am going to present very soon”, he added.