- Perish thought of forceful takeover, PDP cautions APC
- Call for Fubara’s impeachment illegal – G-60 lawmakers
- Pro-Fubara lawmakers elect factional speaker
- Rivers LG chairmen dare Fubara, vow to remain in office beyond tenure
The ruling People’s Democratic Party in Rivers State has asked the opposition All Progressives Congress to perish the thought of a forceful takeover of Rivers State.
The rift between the Rivers State Governor, Sim Fubara and his predecessor, Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesome Wike, commenced last year when the Assembly, primarily composed of Wike’s supporters, attempted to impeach the governor.
Despite initially reaching a truce mediated by President Bola Tinubu, tensions reignited as they disagreed on the terms of the peace agreement.
Subsequently, the Assembly exerted its authority by passing two bills despite the governor’s objections.
On Monday, Fubara denounced the Assembly as an unlawful entity, asserting its non-existence.
Furthermore, he maintained that the eight-point peace accord facilitated by the President was merely a political resolution rather than a constitutional matter.
Consequently, on Tuesday, the State APC Caretaker Committee Chairman, Tony Okocha, urged the 27 members of the State House of Assembly aligned with Wike to promptly initiate impeachment proceedings against Fubara.
Reacting, the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, while addressing a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, described Okocha’s call as an unlawful directive.
He stated that the irresponsible and unjustified remarks made by the APC Chairman in Rivers State revealed the extreme desperation of the APC, a party widely rejected in Rivers State, to employ violence, coercion, and intimidation in order to subvert the democratic will of the people and seize control of the State by force.
Ologunagba said, “Such reckless and unwarranted statement by the APC Chairman in Rivers State exposes the vile desperation of the APC, which is roundly rejected in Rivers State, to use violence, coercion and bullying to undermine the will of the people and forcefully take over the state.
“The fact that the Rivers State APC Chairman, in his warped imagination, thinks he can direct impeachment proceeding against a duly elected State Governor not only shows the level of APC’s arrogance and condescension for the people of Rivers State but also further confirms APC’s desperation to forcefully annex their democratic rights under the Constitution.
“In any event, the individuals that the Rivers State APC Chairman directed to commence impeachment proceedings against Governor Fubara are not legally members of the Rivers State House of Assembly and cannot contemplate or exercise such powers under the law.”
The PDP spokesperson urged the Inspector General of Police to pay attention to the statements made by the APC Chairman in Rivers State, cautioning that they have the potential to incite unrest and disrupt the democratic process in the country, emphasizing that the constitution is unequivocal on this matter.
Ologunagba continued, “These individuals, by virtue of Section 109 (1) (g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) have since vacated and lost their seats, rights, privileges, recognition and obligations accruable to members of the Rivers State House of Assembly after their defection from the PDP, the political Party platform upon which they were elected into the Rivers State House of Assembly, for emphasis, Section 109 (1) (g) of the 1999 Constitution.
“It should be noted that Section 109 (1) (g) of the Constitution is self-executory. The import of this provision is that the members of the Rivers State House of Assembly who defected have vacated their seats by reason of that defection.
“The unlawful directive by the Rivers State APC Chairman to these individuals to commence an impeachment proceeding against the Governor is, therefore, a brazen call for anarchy as it amounts to an attempt to forcefully overthrow a democratic Order in clear violation of Section 1 sub-section 2 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
“The PDP draws the attention of the Inspector General of Police to the subversive utterances of the APC Chairman in Rivers State which is capable of triggering crisis and derailing the Democratic Order in the country.”
He urged the APC Chairman in Rivers State to acknowledge that Rivers State is firmly under the control of the PDP and that the residents of the state are not inclined to change this allegiance.
Ologunagba stated, “The APC must perish the thought of forcefully taking over Rivers State as such is a direct assault on the sensibility of the people which will be resisted firmly.
“The APC Chairman in Rivers State should come to terms with the fact that Rivers State is home to PDP and that the people of Rivers State are not ready to put their destiny in the hands of a corrupt, oppressive and anti-people Special Purpose Vehicle like the APC.”
Call for Fubara’s impeachment illegal – G-60 lawmakers
Also, a group of federal lawmakers belonging to the opposition parties in the National Assembly known as the G-60 have described the call for the impeachment of Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State as illegal.
According to the group, the move is a ridiculous, laughable, unconstitutional and nonsensical invitation to anarchy by 27 sacked lawmakers who ceased to be lawmakers after their illegal decampment and declaration of their seat vacant.
The federal lawmakers in a statement by its spokesperson, Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere, noted that it’s political madness and legislative rascality to ask House of Assembly members that do not exist before the eyes of the law to start the impeachment process against Governor Fubara.
According to him, as long as the law is concerned, those 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly are no more lawmakers. Their seats have been declared vacant.
He frowned at the ongoing crisis in the state, wondering why they were so focused on burning the state down because they were pursuing a selfish agenda, which are state resources.
He urged the Governor of Rivers State to commence prosecution against the sacked lawmakers, using the magistrate court to arraign them for impersonation to restore sanity.
Ugochinyere hailed the governor for being focused and delivering on the democratic dividends for the Rivers people.
The statement partly read, “They can go as usual as they do and sit in a two-bedroom in Emohia or Abuja, receive some little stipends, and say they are impeaching the governor. The so-called laws they amended, who have implemented them, governance is done based on constitutionalism, your seat is vacant, you are supposed to go through an election. Fubara’s government is focused and delivering on the democratic dividends for the Rivers people. Governance and democracy there’s nothing individualistic about it. It’s an institution, it is people’s money.
“The defected and sacked members don’t have the constitutional recognition to continue to perpetrate legislative rascality. They don’t have the recognition to serve an impeachment notice or change procurement laws. They changed procurement law because the governor awarded a contract and paid almost 20 to 40%, and the contractors have moved to the site.
“They now want to move the mobilization fee to 5% so that there won’t be development in that state. But that was the same law the immediate past administration and the one before them used. It’s only a fool that will implement that so-called amendment. I urge the Governor of Rivers State to commence prosecution against these clowns using the magistrate court; arraign them for impersonation to restore sanity. Arrest them, and this madness will end.”
Pro-Fubara lawmakers elect factional speaker
In the same vein, a new factional speaker has emerged in the Rivers State House of Assembly in the person of Victor Jumbo.
Jumbo is among the four lawmakers loyal to the State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara since the political crisis that rocked the state started.
The former factional speaker, Edison Ehie, who was the leader of the pro-Fubara lawmakers, later resigned membership of the Assembly after President Bola Tinubu’s intervention to broker peace in the feud between Fubara and his estranged political godfather, Nyesom Wike.
Ehie was later appointed Chief of Staff, Rivers State Government House, by Fubara.
Jumbo is the member representing Bonny Constituency in the state House of Assembly.
A source in the Government House, Port Harcourt, familiar with the development, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the matter, confirmed the development on Wednesday.
He stated, “Yes, I can confirm to you that Hon Victor Oko Jumbo has just emerged as the new Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
“His colleagues elected him during their sitting in Port Harcourt this afternoon. That is all I can say for now.”
Rivers LG chairmen dare Fubara, vow to remain in office beyond tenure
However, the Rivers State chapter of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria has slammed Governor Fubara, accusing him of tempering with funds meant for the 23 LGs in the state in the last 12 months.
The association also alleged that the governor withheld the LG funds for April, while one of the councils, Emuoha, has not received the funds due to it since March 2024.
The body noted that the action of the Fubara-led state government has denied the local government chairmen of their functions in the administration of their councils, which they said is tantamount to proscribing the local government system in the state.
They also vowed not to vacate office at the expiration of their tenure later in June, this year, insisting that there is an existing law which allows them to remain in office for at least six months, as the governor is not prepared to conduct local government elections.
The State ALGON Chairman and Executive Chairman of Port Harcourt City Local Government Area, Allwell Ihunda, stated this at a news briefing in Port Harcourt, the state capital, on Wednesday.
Ihunda, who was flanked by 21 of his colleagues, also said the security votes due to the various councils which are used to protect the LGs have not been released to them, saying these are signs of highhandedness and dictatorship by the governor.
Also speaking, the ALGON Legal Adviser and Chairman of Andoni Local Government Area, Erastus Awortu, shed light on why the council chairmen would remain in office beyond June when their tenure will expire.
Awortu explained, “Yes, we were elected in 2021 and our tenure will expire in June. By now, local government elections ought to have been conducted and concluded, waiting for swearing-in for those that are victorious.
“But the state House of Assembly has seen that no action has been taken concerning conducting local government elections and in their wisdom to ensure that there is no vacuum, we must maintain a democratically elected system as the constitution and in the local government law of Rivers State.
“The House has said until elections are done, this local government will stay in office for another six months in the interim.”
Awortu said it was in this respect that the LG chairmen went to court because the state government had not shown any inclination towards conducting local government elections.
He added, “But what we are seeing is associates of the governor and even the governor himself, making comments like on the 17th on the 18th they are going to invade the local government offices and burn anybody they see. This is an invitation to anarchy.
“We, as local government chairmen, are going to remain in office because the recently amended local government law that creates and provides for tenure and functioning of local governments in Rivers State as empowered by the Constitution has given us an additional six months period. And we will remain in office until that period expires.
“It has been done in other states, recently in Zamfara State they extended. So we expect that the governor will do what is reasonable and conduct local government elections instead of seeking to plunge the state into needless violence.”
He warned against the invasion of local government secretariats by thugs.
On his part, the Chairman of Emohua Local Government Area, Chidi Llyod, said it was unfortunate that council chairmen who fought and rallied around the governor to win the elections are suffering such a fate today.
The state House of Assembly recently vetoed the governor to pass the State Local Government Amended Law which empowers the council chairmen to remain in office for another six months after the expiration of their tenure should the governor fail to conduct LG elections.
All the 23 local government chairmen in the state were elected during the tenure of Wike.
