A Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has declared that the 25 members of Rivers State House of Assembly led by Rt. Hon. Martin Amaewhule are still members of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
The Court in the decision on Monday struck out a suit filed by Wosa Amadi and three others seeking to declare the seats of the 27 lawmakers vacant following their defection to the All Progressives Congress in December.
Justice Okogbule Gbasam in the judgement held that Martin Amaewhule and the 26 other lawmakers are still members of the PDP.
Gbasam also ruled that the claimants failed to prove to the court that the 27 lawmakers truly defected to the APC, noting that the said defection cannot be established through Newspaper publications, Radio announcements or online publications.
The court said a defection can only be established through the party membership register, a membership card and such members fulfilling all requirements of their membership in the party.
Vanguard
