The Honourable Speaker of the Rivers state House of Assembly, Ikuinyi-Owaji Ibani has dispelled claims he has been removed from office by the election tribunal.
Ikuinyi-Owaji Ibani whose election into the Rivers State House of Assembly was
nullified by the state Election Tribunal on Monday October 26th, says he remains the speaker of the state assembly.
Speaking with newsmen at the state house of assembly complex yesterday, Ibani said his election was only nullified and that he was not sacked from office as speaker. He and the other 20 PDP lawmakers whose elections were nullified, have asked their lawyers to appeal the election tribunal ruling.
“I heard in the news that the Speaker and 20 others have been sacked by the election tribunal. But this is not true. No member of the Assembly, not even the Speaker, has been sacked. The lower tribunal gave judgment… In their judgment, they argued that there should be a rerun within 90 days. The judicial process in Nigeria is that when a lower court gives its judgment, you can proceed to a higher court. That is why we have asked our lawyers to appeal the matter immediately.” Ibani said.