3rd January, 2024
The Clerk of Rivers House of Assembly, Emeka Amadi has said Edison Ehie, a loyalist of Governor Siminalayi Fubara was never elected Speaker of the legislative chamber and as such, he cannot claim to be resigning from the position.
Amadi said this while reacting to the recent letter by Ehie who was proclaimed to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC that he is resigning from the Rivers House of Assembly as a representative of his constituency and the Speaker.
Ehie led a four-member faction of the House following the crisis which led to the division of the 31-member legislative chamber into two in October over an attempt to impeach Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
The four-member faction led by Ehie was loyal to the Governor, while the other 27 members led by Martin Amaewhule are loyalists of Fubara’s predecessor and current Minister of FCT, Nyesom Wike who is believed to be the mastermind of the attempt to impeach his successor.
As Speaker, Ehie led the four-member Assembly to pass the 2024 budget of Rivers as presented by Fubara.
He also declared the seats of the 27 members in the rival faction vacant after they defected from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP on which platform they were elected to the All Progressives Congress.
However, Edison had on 29 December written INEC to indicate his intention to resign as the Speaker of the House as part of the peace deal between Fubara and Wike. There were speculations that Ehie had been appointed the Chief of Staff to Fubara.
But to the Clerk of the House, Ehie should not even had bothered to write INEC or claim he is resigning from such office because he was never a Speaker.
Amadi, in the statement, said, “The attention of the Rivers State House of Assembly has been drawn to a letter dated 29 December, 2023, addressed to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and circulating in the media. It was purportedly written and signed by Rt. Hon. Edison Ehie DSSRS – member representing Ahoada East Constituency II in the Rivers State of Assembly wherein he claimed to have resigned from the position of the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, an office he never occupied.
“I am therefore directed to call on the good people of Rivers State to disregard the false claim in this letter that is intended to mislead the unsuspecting public. Rt. Hon. Edison Ehie DSSRS was never at any time in the life of the Rivers State House of Assembly elected a Speaker. The Office of the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly is a creation of the 1999 Constitution (As altered) and should not be ridiculed by any member who swore to preserve it and abide by the Constitution.
“As a matter of fact, on Monday, the 5th day of June, 2023, after the proclamation of the 10 Rivers State House of Assembly by the Governor, and in line with Section 92 (1) of the 1999 Constitution (As altered), I, as the then Acting Clerk of the House, conducted the election that produced Rt. Hon. Martin Chike Amaewhule, DSSRS, as the Speaker of the 10 Rivers State House of Assembly by the unanimous votes of all other thirty-one (31) members sitting and present. It is also imperative to state that, from the 5th day of June, 2023, when he was elected till today, Rt. Hon. Martin Chike Amaewhule DSSRS, has been performing his duties as the Speaker.”