The Rivers State House of Assembly has reversed its earlier decision to declare the seats of three lawmakers loyal to Governor Siminalayi Fubara vacant, in what appears to be a fresh move towards resolving the prolonged political crisis in the state.

 

The decision was taken at plenary on Monday following renewed peace and reconciliation efforts involving key political stakeholders in Rivers State.

 

The affected lawmakers are Adolphus Timothy Oruibienimigha, representing Opobo/Nkoro Constituency; Victor Oko-Jumbo of Bonny Constituency; and Sokari Goodboy Sokari of Ahoada West Constituency.

 

During the sitting, the Assembly read a letter from the three lawmakers in which they explained that they did not receive the correspondence directing them to resume legislative duties following the intervention of President Bola Tinubu in the political crisis.

 

The lawmakers also tendered an apology to the House, which was accepted by their colleagues.

 

Following the acceptance of the apology, the Assembly directed the three legislators to resume their legislative duties.

 

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Their recall comes amid renewed efforts to ease tensions between the Assembly and Governor Fubara, whose political dispute with his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, has plunged Rivers State into a prolonged crisis.

 

On Sunday, Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), led members of the Rainbow Coalition to visit Fubara at his private residence in Port Harcourt.

 

The meeting was seen as part of ongoing engagements aimed at addressing the political differences among the state’s major political actors.

 

The three lawmakers were suspended on October 30, 2023, the day the Assembly made its first attempt to impeach Fubara, marking a major escalation in the political conflict between the governor and lawmakers aligned with Wike.

 

Despite their recall, however, the lawmakers are not expected to return to the Assembly after the expiration of their current tenure, as all three were screened out of the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary election process.

 

Their exclusion from the party’s primary process means the latest development may allow them to resume their legislative duties for the remainder of their tenure, but it does not secure their return to the Assembly in the next political cycle.

 

The reversal nevertheless marks another significant development in Rivers State’s efforts to navigate the political crisis that has divided the state’s leadership and generated tensions within the APC.