The Rivers State House of Assembly has reversed its earlier decision to declare the seats of three lawmakers loyal to Governor Siminalayi Fubara vacant, paving the way for their return to the legislature.

The decision was reached during plenary on Monday following appeals submitted by the affected lawmakers to the Speaker, Martin Amaewhule.

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

In separate letters dated October 16, 2026, the lawmakers appealed to the Assembly to allow them to resume their legislative duties, explaining that they had not received or seen the correspondence informing them that their suspensions had been lifted.

They said the absence of the communication was responsible for their failure to return to legislative sittings and asked the House to reconsider its decision to declare their seats vacant.

The Speaker read the letters during plenary, after which members debated the appeals before voting in favour of rescinding the earlier decision.

The Assembly had suspended the three lawmakers on October 30, 2023, during the political crisis involving Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, who is now the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.

Their suspensions were lifted on December 20, 2023, following a peace initiative facilitated by President Bola Tinubu to resolve the dispute between the governor and Wike.

However, the lawmakers did not resume attending legislative sittings after the suspension was lifted. The Assembly subsequently declared their seats vacant on October 15, 2025, citing provisions of the 1999 Constitution relating to lawmakers who are absent from legislative sittings without justification.

The House also notified the Independent National Electoral Commission of the vacancies and requested the conduct of by-elections to fill the affected constituencies.

During Monday’s proceedings, the lawmakers’ explanation that they had not received notification of the lifting of their suspensions formed part of the consideration of their appeals.

The latest decision comes amid renewed reconciliation efforts between Wike and Fubara, following a series of meetings involving political leaders and stakeholders in Rivers State.

On Sunday, Wike led members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, local government chairmen and other political figures to a meeting with Fubara at his residence in Port Harcourt.

The discussions were reportedly aimed at resolving lingering disagreements between the two political camps and strengthening reconciliation ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The reversal of the vacant-seat declaration marks a significant development in the ongoing political negotiations in Rivers State, although the durability of the reconciliation efforts remains to be seen.