The Rivers State House of Assembly has reversed its earlier decision declaring the seats of three lawmakers aligned with Governor Siminalayi Fubara vacant, following appeals by the affected legislators.
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The lawmakers are Victor Oko-Jumbo, Sokari Goodboy Sokari and Orubienimigha Timothy, whose seats were declared vacant on October 15, 2025, after they failed to attend legislative sittings despite the lifting of their suspension.
The latest decision followed separate letters dated October 16, 2026, in which the three lawmakers appealed to the House to reconsider its position.
Speaker of the House, Martin Amaewhule, read the letters during plenary on Monday.
In their appeals, the lawmakers explained that they did not receive or see the communication informing them that their suspension had been lifted and maintained that this was why they failed to resume attendance at plenary.
Following deliberations on the letters, members of the Assembly voted to rescind the earlier resolution declaring the three seats vacant, paving the way for the lawmakers’ possible return to the House.
The trio had initially been suspended on October 30, 2023, amid the political crisis between Governor Fubara and his predecessor, now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
Their suspension was lifted on December 20, 2023, following an earlier peace initiative facilitated by President Bola Tinubu.
However, their continued absence from legislative sittings subsequently led the Assembly to declare their seats vacant in October 2025, citing Section 109(1)(e) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
The House also wrote to the Independent National Electoral Commission, requesting bye-elections to fill the affected seats.
The reversal comes amid renewed reconciliation efforts involving Wike, Fubara, the leadership of the Rivers State House of Assembly and local government chairmen in the state.
About two weeks ago, Wike led members of the Rainbow Coalition, including political figures associated with the All Progressives Congress, to meet with Fubara.
That engagement was followed by another meeting on Sunday at the governor’s private residence in Port Harcourt, as efforts continued to resolve the long-running political disagreement in the state.
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