The Rivers State House of Assembly has refuted claims by Edison Ehie, who recently resigned from the House, asserting that he was never duly elected as the Speaker of the state legislature. The Assembly clarified that the position of the Speaker is a legal construct, and Ehie, formerly the representative for Ahoada East Constituency II, was making unfounded assertions.
In a letter titled ‘To whom it may concern,’ dated January 1st, 2024, and released by the House’s Clerk, Emeka Amadi, it was stated that Ehie’s resignation letter, addressed to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), was deemed “misleading information.” Amadi emphasized that at no point during the existence of the Rivers State Assembly was Ehie elected as Speaker.
The letter read, “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 and circulating in the media. It was purportedly written and signed by Rt. Hon. Edison Ehie, 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.”
The PUNCH Online reported earlier that the State House of Assembly had been demolished due to the facility being unsuitable for legislative purposes after a fire incident in October, as confirmed by the state Commissioner for Information and Communications, Joseph Johnson. The incident occurred amid alleged attempts by some lawmakers to impeach the Speaker, Fubara. Ehie, in response, claimed that influential individuals in the state were targeting him for supporting Fubara and opposing the purported impeachment plot.
