The Federal High Court in Port Harcourt has scheduled April 16, 2025, for its ruling on an application regarding the possible dismissal of a defection case filed by the Labour Party against 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
The Labour Party aims to have the seats of these lawmakers, who are accused of defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), declared vacant.
According to Channels TV, during the proceedings, counsel for the defendants, including Speaker Martins Amaewhule, requested the court to strike out the case, citing a recent Supreme Court ruling.
Presenting the Certified True Copy of the verdict, he highlighted that the Supreme Court had reinstated the Amaewhule-led leadership of the Assembly. He also noted that Governor Siminalayi Fubara, who initially raised the allegations of defection, had retracted these claims at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
In his argument, counsel for the Labour Party, Clifford Chukwu, asserted that the defection issue was a “collateral matter” before the Supreme Court and urged the court not to grant the request to strike out the case, referring to the evidence already presented regarding the defection.
It is worth recalling that on February 29, the Apex Court ruled that without substantiated evidence, no legal defection had occurred, thereby preserving the status quo within the Assembly.
Speaking to Channels Television shortly after the court proceedings, Chukwu stated that he had delivered his submission, and the ruling on April 16 would determine whether the defendants’ counsel’s arguments are upheld.
