RIVERS SPEAKER EXTOLS NATIONAL ASSEMBLY CAUCUS FOR STANDING ON THE SIDE OF TRUTH ~Vows to Remain Focused, Prioritise Rivers Interests; As National Assembly Caucus Endorses Oko-Jumbo's Speakership, ~Says Omotosho's Judgment didn't reinstate defected ex Members; Urges Colleagues to stop misleading Nigerians Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Victor Oko-Jumbo has praised the Rivers Caucus of the National Assembly for standing on the side of truth irrespective of the deception being peddled by the former Speaker, Hon Martin Amaewhule and his group of ex Legislators The Speaker spoke when the Caucus of the National Assembly paid him a solidarity visit today in his office. He noted that the distractions from the enemies of the state will not obstruct his focus in doing his job, dispensing the dividends of impactful represention and collaborating with the executive for exceptional service to the people. In his words "Let me profoundly thank you for standing on the side of the truth and light and for coming all the way to identify with the leadership of the 10th Assembly. Be assured that I am not distracted. We have so much to achieve with this term, hence we are leveraging on all neccesary collaborations to serve the interest of the people for the ultimate good of Rivers State" Earlier, Leader of the delegation and Member representing Andoni/Opobo/Nkoro Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Rep Awaji-Inombek Abiante, PhD, said they were on the visit to dispel the false claims by some lawmakers in the National Assembly during their visit to Hon Martin Amaewhule and his group of ex-legislators. Hon Abiante clarified that the judgement of Hon Justice Omotosho does not touch on the status of Hon Martin Amaewhule and his group as Former lawmakers of the Rivers State House of Assembly following their defection on December 11, 2023. He further clarified that the suit over which Omotosho gave judgement was instituted before their defection and that having later defected, they lost their seats in line with the provisions of the Law He pointed out that "the misleading overtures of Amaewhule and his group cannot make the judgment of Hon Justice Omotosho to become relevant to issues not decided in the case. Hon Martins Amaewhule and his co-travellers appear to have lost sight of the trite position of the law, that a case is an authority only for what it decides which was emphasized in the Supreme Court case of OGWUCHE Vs. AGBO & ORS (2023) LPELR-60207(SC) (Pp. 23-24 paras. F)." "The judgment of Hon Justice Omotosho is an authority and relevant only for what it decided. The law is that judgment must always be read in the light of the facts on which the case was decided, and must not be stretched beyond the facts presented before that Court. See OBIOMA Vs. STATE (2020) 3 NWLR Part 1710, Page 45 at 61 Para D-G per Kekere-Ekun, JSC." He concluded by urging President Ahmed Bola Tinubu, the National Judicial Council, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, the Inspector General of Police, all institutions in Nigeria, as well as well-meaning Nigerians to ignore the mischievous and deliberate misrepresentation of the facts and the effect of the judgment of Hon Justice Omotosho on the situation in Rivers State by Hon Amaewhule and co, stressing that Rt Hon Victor Oko-Jumbo remains the legitimate Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly. Other members of the delegation were PDP's Hon. Boma Goodhead representing Akuku-Toru/Asari-Toru Federal Constituency, and Rep. Boniface Emerengwa representing Ikwerre/Emohua Federal Constituency; APC's Rep. Anderson Allison Igbiks representing Okrika/Ogu-Bolo Federal Constituency and Labour Party's Rep. Manuchim Omezurike representing Port Harcourt Federal Constituency Press Unit Rivers State House of Assembly Monday, February 24th, 2025.