Femi Falana (SAN), a human rights attorney, claimed that the president's decision to restore the 27 members of the Rivers House of Assembly who had engaged in cross-carpeting was unconstitutional.
Falana stated the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is mandated to hold the by-election as soon as the Federal High Court issues the ex parte order, regardless of the reported eight-point resolutions reached at the meeting between Tinubu and Rivers stakeholders on Monday night.
Falana stated that although the President may interfere in the political problems roiling the states, his action must always be based on the provisions of the Constitution, albeit advisory. The President is not constitutionally obligated to address the political crises in the states of Ondo and Rivers.
Falana stated that the Speaker has officially declared the seats of the cross-carpeting members empty. He referenced the Supreme Court's ruling in Abegunde v. Labour Party (2015) LPELR 24588 (SC), wherein it was decided that a lawmaker who defected from the political party that had supported him would immediately lose his place in parliament.
"The legislator who is cross-carpeting can only hold onto his seat if he can demonstrate that the political party that supported him is split into two or more groups. Because the PDP that supported the 27 Rivers Assembly members defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) rather than the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as required by the Constitution, they lost their seats.
"It is submitted that all actions taken by the Speaker and recognized by the Rivers State High Court remain valid, including his pronouncement on the vacant seats of the 27 cross-carpeting members of the House, even if all the cases in the Federal High Court and the Rivers State High Court are withdrawn in accordance with the advice of the President.
Stated differently, the Speaker's statement, which is based on Section 109 of the Constitution, can only be invalidated by a court of law. Furthermore, a presidential directive cannot remove the Speaker because he has not been removed by the necessary number of MPs.
In a similar vein, President Tinubu has come under fire from Chief Edwin Clark, the First Republic's Minister of Information, for allegedly giving the democratically elected governor of Rivers State orders for which he is not authorized.
This comes soon after the statesman verified that the peace accord ostensibly signed by Fubara and Wike was a sham based on information at his disposal.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday at his residence in Abuja, Clark said that attendees at the meeting had verified to him that Fubara had not signed the agreement.
According to evidence received by Clark from Rivers State, the eight-point decision was a forgery because Fubara and previous governor Peter Odili did not sign it and they both rejected it. Nobody knows how they ended up signing it.
Although former Speaker Martins Amaewhule attended the meeting, it would only have been fair and practical for Edison Ehie, the Speaker as confirmed by constitutional laws, to attend if there had been a genuine intention behind the gathering.
"The eight-point resolutions that were negotiated are the most ridiculous, offensive, and unconstitutional attempts at party reconciliation that I have ever seen in my life.
On behalf of our people, I am pleading with our beloved son, Governor Fubara, to maintain his resolve and acknowledge that the President of Nigeria has no power over him. The President was chosen, and he was given a number of powers. Fubara will rule over Rivers, and the President will rule over Nigeria.
"We will recommend that Governor Fubara reject the alleged agreement. He ought to tell Nigerians publicly that he did not sign the contract. He is not under any duty to anyone. In Rivers, Wike ruled as an emperor and a tyrant for eight years. He demolished the homes of his adversaries.
In response, the Ijaw National Congress (INC) stated that Governor Fubara was undoubtedly ambushed by Federal Capital Territory Minister Wike with the terms of the peace agreement that was signed on Monday.
Through its spokesperson, Ezenobi Oyakemeaagbegha, the leading Ijaw ethnic group bemoaned the meeting's bias and pointed out that there was not a fair representation of their group.
He claimed that although the Ijaw people are oppressed, weak, and meek, they will unite to oppose Fubara's misguided activities if he is unable to stand up to them.
Additionally, the Rivers State Elders and Leaders Forum declared that until the governor addresses the state's populace, it will not comment on the cease-fire negotiated in Abuja over the state's situation.
According to Anabs Sara-Igbe, a forum member from Port Harcourt, the state's citizens are waiting for Fubara to speak to them so they may learn what happened in Abuja.
"Right now, we want the governor to speak to the people of Rivers so we can learn what happened in Abuja. Only then will we know what to do and say." he stated.
Festus Ogwuche, a human rights activist and constitutional lawyer based in Port Harcourt, has denounced the ceasefire in Abuja as a coup d'état against Governor Fubara and the state's populace.
Ogwuche declared that the agreement struck and the paper it contained violated the nation's Constitution and all known laws. He further stated that it was treasonous for a governor to submit to an authority other than the people who elected him.
"A state's governor cannot submit to any authority other than the authority granted by the people and the Constitution. I wonder if the governor was able to approve such a document with the people's approval and authority. If he signed the paperwork, it indicates that Rivers State's government has been taken over in a way not allowed by the constitution.
That is tantamount to treason; operating any kind of government in violation of the Federal Republic of Nigeria's Constitution is treasonable. Politicians may have some comprehension of one another, but this understanding is not what is used as a black-and-white tool for governing.
Meanwhile, the PDP has requested that new elections be held in Rivers by INEC in order to fill the vacancies left by the 25 state Assembly members who defected.
Acting PDP National Chairman Umar Damagum stated at a press conference on Tuesday that the party will not give up on its efforts to remove those defectors from the House of Assembly.
Following an emergency meeting of the National Working Committee (NWC) concerning the political developments in Rivers, Damagum declared: "The lawmakers vacated and lost their seats by reason of defection from the PDP, the platform upon which they were elected into the House of Assembly, in accordance with Section 109 (1)(g) of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended)."
In accordance with the provisions of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) Constitution and the Electoral Act, 2022, our party maintains that the former lawmakers' only option, having now vacated and lost their seats, is to seek fresh nomination and re-election on the platform of any political party of their choice.
For the avoidance of doubt, the 25 former Assembly members' defection is not justified by any division within the PDP, either nationally or elsewhere. As a result, they left their positions for reasons that are only known to them, and they are unable to return to the House of Assembly without first going through a new election procedure in line with the terms of the Electoral Act of 2022 and the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
He emphasized that no court has the authority to prevent INEC from holding elections whenever and whenever there is a vacancy in any electoral constituency, as stated in Section 84 (15) of the Electoral Act, 2022.
The party chair went on to say that Wike and other party members who worked against PDP would face disciplinary action from PDP at the proper time.
In his first public appearance following the President's meeting, Fubara declared that his administration would make the necessary sacrifices to support growth and give the state's peace a chance. He went on to say that there is no cost too high to guarantee that peace prevails.
The governor made the guarantee yesterday during the PAMO University of Medical Sciences' third convocation and sixth Founders Day ceremonies in Iriebe Town, Obio-Akpor Local Government Area. The university is owned by former governor Peter Odili and his wife Mary.
The governor promised that he is ready and will keep paying the price required to ensure peace.