The Rivers State House of Assembly has reinstated three lawmakers loyal to Governor Siminalayi Fubara, reversing its earlier decision to declare their seats vacant following their continued absence from legislative sittings.

The decision was taken on Monday during the Assembly’s 68th legislative sitting of the fourth session of the 10th Assembly, after the lawmakers submitted separate letters of appeal to the Speaker, Martin Amaewhule.

The affected lawmakers are Victor Oko-Jumbo, representing Bonny Constituency; Sokari Goodboy Sokari, representing Ahoada West Constituency; and Timothy Oruibienimigha, representing Opobo/Nkoro Constituency.

In their letters, the lawmakers apologised for failing to resume legislative duties after their suspensions were lifted in December 2023. They explained that they had not received official correspondence informing them of the decision to lift the suspensions following a presidential intervention.

The appeals were read during plenary, after which members debated whether to accept the explanations and reverse the earlier decision. The lawmakers’ colleagues supported the appeals and voted in favour of restoring their seats.

The Speaker said investigations indicated that the three lawmakers might not have received the correspondence notifying them that their suspensions had been lifted. He added that the decision should be guided by justice rather than sentiment.

Following the vote, Amaewhule directed the lawmakers to resume sitting and join their colleagues in representing their respective constituencies.

The three lawmakers were among four members suspended on October 30, 2023, amid the political crisis that divided the Assembly into rival factions aligned with Fubara and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.

Their suspensions were lifted on December 20, 2023, following a peace meeting initiated by President Bola Tinubu. However, the Assembly later declared their seats vacant on October 15, 2024, citing their failure to attend legislative sittings, and notified the Independent National Electoral Commission of the decision to conduct by-elections.

The latest reversal follows renewed reconciliation efforts in the state. On Sunday, Wike led members of the Assembly and the 23 local government chairmen to a closed-door meeting with Fubara at the governor’s private residence in Port Harcourt.

The meeting reportedly involved a reconciliation committee led by Senator Magnus Abe and members of the Rainbow Coalition, with discussions focused on resolving outstanding political differences ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Wike has also been appointed coordinator of President Tinubu’s 2027 presidential campaign council in Rivers State and the Federal Capital Territory.

The reinstatement of the three lawmakers marks a further development in efforts to ease the prolonged political tensions that have affected relations between the Rivers State executive and legislature.