Boma Achenimie 
Following the lawsuit filed by the factional Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Edison Ehie, seeking to take control of the state legislature, the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt on Monday fixed December 5 to commence hearing of the case.
It would be recalled that in the wake of the former Speaker of the House, Martin Amaewhule, and 23 other lawmakers’ move to impeach Governor Siminialayi Fubara amid the crisis rocking the Rivers State Assembly.
As the impeachment plan gets stalled, Ehie announced his emergence as the new Speaker of the House.
Following his announcement, Ehie sought to restrain Amaewhule from presiding over the affairs of the House as he filed a lawsuit, seeking the court to restrain him from parading himself as Speaker.
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However, Ehie later initiated contempt proceedings against Amaewhule, alleging that his faction conducted legislative proceedings despite the court order.
During the recent proceedings, there was a clash between two lawyers vying to represent Ehie in the matter. K.C.0. Njemanze, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, informed the court that he had been hired to replace N O. Akporuvweku, the original lawyer in charge of the case.
On the other hand, Akporuvweku argued that he had not been formally notified of the change and insisted that he and the team remained the plaintiff’s counsel.
Additionally, Ferdinand Oshoke, counsel for the first and second defendants, requested the court to consolidate and expedite the hearing on all applications filed in the matter due to its relevance to the legislative arm of government.
Justice Phoebe Ayua postponed the case until December 5th to allow Ehie’s lawyers to regularize their appearances and for the parties to serve processes on each other.
