The political crisis in Rivers State is deepening as about 10 bulldozers drove into the premises of the state House of Assembly and demolished the complex.
This came as the factional Speaker, Edison Ehie, led other lawmakers loyal to the governor to hold a sitting early yesterday before the demolition began.
VOP News gathered that Ehie, during the session, said the complex was due for repairs following the explosion that rocked the building on October 30, 2023, saying the governor will provide an alternative place for them to sit for the meantime.
The demolition is being done under tight security.
This is coming barely 24 hours after a Rivers State High Court recognised Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s loyalist, Ehie as the Speaker of the House pending the determination of the substantial suit before it.
On Monday, the strained relationship between former Governor Nyesome Wike and Fubara worsened when 27 lawmakers in the state Assembly loyal to Wike out of 32 defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Speaking on the demolition, the Commissioner for Information and Communication, Joseph Johnson, stated that the decision to demolish and rebuild the Rivers State House of Assembly Complex was due to the structural defects which arose mainly as a result of the recent explosion and fire incident which rendered the main building unfit for human use.
He said after the visit of the Governor to inspect the level of damage done to the building on the day of the fire incident, it became necessary to invite professionals to advise the government on the integrity of the building.
Despite the ongoing demolition, the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara today presented the state’s N800bn 2024 budget proposals to the State House of Assembly.
The Governor presented the budget to a four-man assembly of lawmakers presided over by Edison Ehie who was on Tuesday backed by a ruling of the Rivers State High Court as the authentic Speaker of the State Assembly.
Tagged as the ‘Budget of Renewed Hope, Consolidation and Continuity’, the Rivers State Executive Council had earlier approved the budget estimates.
The budget presentation was done within the premises of the Rivers State government house following the earlier demolition of the State Assembly Complex.
