Rivers assembly speaker defends independence amid post-crisis scrutiny

Port Harcourt, Rivers – In a pointed assertion of legislative autonomy, Speaker Martins Amaewhule of the Rivers State House of Assembly has described the chamber as an "independent and conscious" body, acutely aware of its pivotal role as one of the three arms of government.

The remarks come seven months after the assembly found itself at the epicenter of a political maelstrom that triggered a rare federal intervention, underscoring ongoing tensions in Nigeria's oil-rich Niger Delta state.

Amaewhule's comments, delivered during a plenary session in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, were a direct rebuttal to criticisms labeling the 31-member assembly a "rubber-stamp" legislature subservient to executive whims.

"We are not a rubber-stamp body," the speaker declared, emphasizing the assembly's commitment to checks and balances.

"Our actions during the crisis were guided by constitutional imperatives, not political expediency. We stand independent, conscious of our duties to the people of Rivers State.", he added

The assembly's defense arrives against the backdrop of a protracted feud that paralyzed state governance for over a year, culminating in President Bola Tinubu's declaration of a state of emergency on March 18, 2025.