After several weeks, the Martins Amaewhule-led Rivers State House of Assembly sat on Monday, 11th March, 2024.
The Amaewhule-led Assembly is said to be loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike, a former governor of the state.
The group of lawmakers, who are loyal to Wike, had some months ago defected from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the All Progressives Congress, APC.
The seats of the lawmakers were declared vacant following their defection.
Four lawmakers loyal to Governor Siminalayi Fubara, led by Edison Ehie, now Chief of a Staff to the Rivers State Government House, declared the seats vacant.
Despite the development, the lawmakers loyal to the FCT Minister continued holding sittings.
However the faction of lawmakers, numbering 26, went silent weeks after overriding the governor to pass four new bills into law.
However, on Monday 11th March, 2024, the lawmakers held their first plenary in weeks.
During the plenary, they held the first reading on the Rivers State Local Government (Amendment) Bill, 2024.
Presenting the Bill, the member representing Omuma Constituency, Silvanus Nwankwo stated that it seeks to further amend the Rivers State Local Government Law No. 5 of 2018 and other matters connected thereto.
Nwankwo added that the Bill has four clauses and when passed may be cited as the Local Government (Amendment) Law, 2024.
Also, the House debated on the Rivers State Education Amendment Bill, 2024z after the Bill was read the second time.
Tekenari Granville, the sponsor, urged his colleagues to support the Bill, which seeks the return of Kalabari Girls High School, Buguma, to the state government, because “it was originally built through community effort several years ago; but was erroneously categorized and ceded to church as Mission School in 2005″.
Granville stated further that, after the school was ceded to the Church, it was abandoned, but the previous administration in the state renovated the school to its present status.
Rivers Assembly crisis: Amaewhule-led lawmakers resume sitting
