Three pro-Fubara lawmakers shun first sitting after emergency rule

Three members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Victor Oko-Jumbo, Sokari Goodboy Sokari, and Adolphus Timothy Oruibienimigha, were conspicuously absent from Thursday’s sitting.

The Assembly convened its first plenary session a day after President Bola Tinubu lifted the state of emergency in Rivers State.

The plenary session was held at the Assembly quarters, as the State Assembly Complex is still under reconstruction after being demolished for rebuilding, following an explosion that rocked the facility on October 29, 2023.

The absentee lawmakers were the only members who remained loyal to Governor Siminalayi Fubara at the height of the political crisis.

It is still unclear whether the rift between the 27 lawmakers loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and the three pro-Fubara lawmakers was fully resolved during the peace process.

Interestingly, two of the lawmakers, Oko-Jumbo and Sokari, were seen at the celebration ground outside the Government House on Thursday, where Rivers people had gathered to welcome the governor.