The lawmaker representing Okrika in the State Assembly “made a U-turn as the seats of the defectors were declared vacant”.
Hon. Linda Somari Stewart, one of the 27 Rivers State House of Assembly members who defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) has reportedly made a U-turn.
She returned to her party, the Peoples Democratic Party after her seat and that of others were declared vacant.
Recall that on Monday, 27 members of the House of Assembly said to be loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and immediate governor of the state, Nyesom Wike, defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC.
The lawmakers announced their defection at the plenary, citing division in the PDP as the reason for the move.
A source told SaharaReporters on Wednesday that Stewart, the lawmaker representing Okrika in the State Assembly “made a U-turn as the seats of the defectors were about to be declared vacant”.
Her defection means Stewart has moved from Wike’s camp to Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s camp.
SaharaReporters earlier reported on Wednesday that a five-member faction of the State House of Assembly headed by Edison Ehie and loyal to Governor Fubara had passed the 2024 budget proposal submitted by the governor.
The State Executive Council, on Monday, approved the estimated budget of over N800 billion, tagged by the governor as the ‘Budget of Renewed Hope, Consolidation, and Continuity’ for the 2024 fiscal year.
The faction on Wednesday moved the house plenary session to the Government House, Port Harcourt.
This comes amid the ongoing demolition of the assembly complex by Governor Fubara’s administration.
The five lawmakers who sat at plenary on Wednesday received the state’s 2024 budget proposal submitted by Governor Fubara for their review.
The other faction of lawmakers loyal to Wike and led by Martin Amaewhule had initiated impeachment proceedings against Governor Fubara, but the move failed.