Rivers House Of Assembly Demolished, Amidst Face Off Between Governor and Pro-Wike Lawmakers

Bulldozers have demolished Rivers State House of Assembly in Port Harcourt.

The building was demolished in the early hours of Wednesday amidst tight security by armed policemen.

The demolition took place shortly after the Edison Ehie, a factional speaker loyal to Governor Fubara held a plenary with three out of 32 members of the house in the assembly complex.

The 27 others who were pro-wike Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members who defected to All Progressive Congress (APC) last Monday, were not in attendance.

The factional speaker declared the seats of 27 PDP members who defected to APC vacant and asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct fresh polls in their constituencies.

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Meanwhile, the state government has said the assembly was demolished based on the advice of experts to the state government.

Information Commissioner, Joseph Johnson said the building in the assembly had lost their integrity due to the structural defects since it was gutted by fire following last October 30 explosion which rocked the assembly.

The fire incident came amid alleged moves by some lawmakers to impeach Governor Siminalayi Fubara. It was gathered that some suspected arsonists threw an explosive into the complex, causing a fire in the building.

Johnson said, The Rivers State Government says the decision to demolish and rebuild the Rivers State House of Assembly Complex was due to the structural defects which arose mainly as a result of the recent explosion and fire incident which rendered the main building unfit for human use.