Rivers Crisis: Two of 27 decamped lawmakers return to PDP, apologise to Fubara

Two of the 27 Rivers House Of Assembly lawmakers who decamped to the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Monday have reneged on their decampment while a good number of others are relentlessly lobbying to also return.

A report by The Guardian said that two lawmakers who had so far returned and apologised to Governor Siminalayi Fubara, were Tonye Adoki, a member representing Port Harcourt Constituency II, and Linda Somiari Stewart representing Okrika Constituency at the State House of Assembly.

Confirming the development, the State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Mr. Joseph Johnson, said there werre more decamped members jostling to return.

Johnson noted that the state needed peace and unity to thrive, assuring that the administration of Fubara will continue to take steps that will entrench peace in the State.

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The Guardian’s observation showed that most of the decamped lawmakers were only adhering to directives without adequate knowledge of the implications.

Their breakout from the decampmentmay have followed arguments by some lawyers and political analysts in the State that the lawmakers shot themselves in the foot by allegedly allowing themselves to be controlled by a selfish godfather.

Some of lawyers argued that the division cited by the lawmakers as their reason for decampment was baseless, stressing that there was no factional Chairman in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) or other crisis situation that might have caused their action.

A constitutional lawyer and lecturer at the Rivers State University, Prof Richard Wokocha, said the law recognised only the four lawmakers who remained in PDP as the only legitimate members of the State Assembly.

He said there was no party crisis or other valid situations to justify the decampment.

Wokocha added that the decampment had opened a new chapter for the crisis in the state.