This development followed a ruling by Justice M.W. Danagogo of a State High Court in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, which recognised Edison Ehie as the legitimate Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
In response to this ruling, Tony Okocha, the Chairman of the Caretaker Committee of the APC in Rivers State, described the order as a misuse of the court process.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Okocha suggested that Justice Danagogo's order was designed to allow Governor Siminalayi Fubara to present the N800 billion budget to four members of the House of Assembly, a move he claimed was in defiance of a warning from the National Judicial Commission (NJC).
Okocha warned that the APC in the state would not tolerate any harassment, intimidation, or humiliation of its members. He stated, “Today, Rivers State people woke up to hear that one Justice Danagogo of the Rivers State High Court, granted with impunity, an ex parte order to one Honorable Edison Ehie, recognising him as Speaker, Rivers State House of Assembly.
He further explained that Edison had previously approached a Federal High Court in Rivers State, seeking to be declared as Speaker. The case was heard and judgment was reserved for January 2023. However, Okocha expressed surprise that Justice Danagogo granted an ex parte order recognising Edison as Speaker on the same subject matter.
He described this as a flagrant abuse of court processes and threatened to petition the judge to the NJC if the judgement is not immediately reversed.
Okocha, who also serves as the Rivers State representative on the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) Management Board, advised Governor Fubara to avoid actions that could escalate the political tension in the state, which he attributed to Fubara's party, the PDP.