By 247ureports.com
The Rivers State House of Assembly has reversed its decision to declare vacant the seats of three lawmakers loyal to Governor Siminalayi Fubara, restoring them to the House after they appealed in writing and said they never saw the letters lifting their suspension.
The lawmakers are Victor Oko-Jumbo of Bonny Constituency, Sokari Goodboy Sokari of Ahoada West Constituency and Orubienimigha Timothy of Opobo/Nkoro Constituency. Speaker Martin Amaewhule read letters from each, dated October 16, 2026, at Monday’s plenary, and members debated and voted to rescind the earlier resolution. In the letters, the three said they did not see the correspondence ending their suspension, which is why they did not attend sittings, and asked the House to reconsider. According to a statement from the Speaker’s media aide, Martins Wachukwu, they also apologised for their absence, and Amaewhule said the House had to act on the basis of law rather than emotion.
The Assembly had declared the three seats vacant on October 15, 2025, after the lawmakers failed to attend sittings once their suspension was lifted, citing Section 109(1)(e) of the Constitution, which allows a seat to be declared vacant when a member is absent for 181 days of a legislative year without reasonable cause. It then wrote to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) asking for by-elections to fill the seats. Reports do not say whether any by-election was fixed or whether the request to INEC has been withdrawn, and 247ureports.com could not confirm either point.
The move comes as FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, the central figure in the Rivers political struggle, leads fresh peace efforts between the governor, the Assembly leadership and the local government chairmen. Reports say the recall followed a meeting at Fubara’s residence on Sunday attended by Wike, members of the Assembly and local government chairmen. Wike has been named to coordinate President Bola Tinubu’s campaign in Rivers and the FCT, which gives him a reason to settle the divisions in the state’s politics ahead of the January election. Oko-Jumbo is a prominent name in the dispute: he was elected Speaker in May 2024 by a faction loyal to Fubara, a claim that ended when the Assembly returned to the Amaewhule leadership.
Neither Fubara nor Wike had commented on the reinstatement at the time of this report. Whether the move marks a durable settlement or one more step in a long running truce remains to be seen.
