Nnamdi Chukwu
THE Clerk of the Rivers State House of Assembly Emeka Amadi, in a press statement issued in Port Harcourt earlier today, said EdisonEhie was never elected the Speaker of the Assembly and should not have claimed to have resigned from such office.
It will be recalled that a letter addressed to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Rt. Hon. Ehie announced his resignation as Speaker of the House as well as his cessation of membership of the House. He represented Ahoada East Constituency II. He was the Majority Leader of the Assembly before internal wranglings led to his emergence as the factional Speaker.
Eighteen-Eleven Media also observed that the resignation letter was written on the letterhead of the Speaker of the House. But it’s now being faulted in a disclaimer written on the Rivers State House of Assembly letterhead, signed by Emeka Amadi as the Clerk of the House.
A Rivers State High Court had also held that Hon Ehie should be recognised as the Speaker pending the determination of a substantive suit before it.
However, the disclaimer endorsed by Emeka Amadi said Mr Edison never held the position of the House Speaker nor was he elected as such. The statement said thirty-one members of the House on 5 June elected Martin Amaewhule as Speaker and he has been performing his duties in that capacity since his election.
He 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 amended) 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 amended), 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.”
Meanwhile, Eighteen-Eleven Media reports that the N800,000,000,000.00 2024 budget of the state was submitted to the Rt. Hon. Edison Ehie-led House and same was passed and has been signed into law.
Eighteen-Eleven Media