The simmering political crisis in Rivers state is increasingly getting heightened as the state government’s alleged plan to relocate the state House of Assembly is being rejected by elders and some major stakeholders.
Specifically, they warned Governor Siminalayi Fubara against tampering with the structures of the state legislature, situated along Aba Road in Port Harcourt, the state capital.
The elders, made up of past and present members of the National Assembly, local government chairmen, and opinion leaders, gave the warning Sunday during their impromptu visit to the quarters to assess the condition of the buildings.
Those on the visiting team include Kingsley Chinda, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmaker representing Obio/Akpor at the House Representatives, Emmanuel Deeyah, also former federal lawmaker, and Senator Olaka Nwogu.
The rest are chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) caretaker committee chairman in the state, Chief Tony Okocha, former federal lawmaker Igo Aguma, a former PDP chairman in the state, Desmond Akawor, a former commissioner, Fred Kpakol, MD/CEO Ogun-Osun River Basin Authority, Emeka Woke, Obio/Akpor Local Government Council Chairman George Ariolu, that of Andoni, Erasmu Awoto, and Samuel Nwanosike, who is the council chairman of Ikwerre local government council.
The leaders were received by Amaewhule and other lawmakers who conducted them round the structures in the complex and the auditorium that currently serves as a chamber for the lawmakers.
The governor was recently reported to have planned to renovate the estate, which currently houses the hallowed chamber of the Martins Amaewhule-led House of Assembly.
…Speaker welcomes the leaders
Briefing the leaders, the Speaker, Hon. Amaewhule, alleged plot by the governor to bring down the structures the same way he ordered the demolition of the House of Assembly complex located along Moscow Road, to stop them from sitting.
The lawmaker also said the structures were in excellent condition, fully functional, and were currently occupied by the lawmakers and their family members, and therefore would not warrant being demolished.
Amaewhule condemned the manner of the governor’s visit to the quarters, allegedly aided by thugs and armed policemen, following which he said Fubara broke the gate and allowed others to scale the fence.
Addressing the elders, Amaewhule said: “Your visit is unusual visit. It shows that the good people of the state are concerned about what is happening. This facility is the facility of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
“We have also brought in experts, engineers and there is nothing wrong with these structures. They are fully in use and fully functional. All the experts confirmed to us that this building is one of the best in the entire West Africa.
“This complex was constructed by the former Governor, Nyesom Wike and inaugurated in August 2022 by the current chief of staff to Mr. President, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila. We are happy with the building and everything is working well.
“We didn’t write to the governor and we didn’t invite him. We didn’t ask for his help because we don’t need it. We don’t need his intervention in any way. Any attempt to talk about reconstruction or demolition is clearly an assault on democracy and an assault on members resident in these buildings.
“The Rivers state government is not the office of the governor. It comprises the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary. The governor has no right to claim it as his personal property. It is the property of the Rivers State House of Assembly. So without an invitation to the governor, he has no right to break into our property.”
…On Executive order
On the Executive Order by Fubara directing lawmakers where to conduct their legislative business, Amaewhule said the governor did not have such power under the law.
Citing the judgement of Omotosho, Amaewhule described governor’s actions as a flagrant violation of orders of the Federal High Court, none of which he said had been vacated.
“All the orders of injunction by that court are still in place. None had been vacated. The law is on the side of members. The orders of the three high courts are still in place. The duty of ascertaining whether there is a problem is the duty of the assembly not the office of the governor.
“This facility belongs to the Rivers State House of Assembly and it remains so. We are not an appendage of the office of the governor. The judgement of Justice Omotosho bars him from interfering with our affairs. The judgement says don’t interfere with anything concerning us. It is in continuous disobedience to the order of the court that the governor broke into this place.
“The judgment also barred the other people from doing what they are currently doing. It is only the Rivers State House of Assembly Service Commission that can recruit, and discipline any staff member of the assembly. Those other people are Nollywood actors. The law is on our side. There is also a subsisting order of another court made by Justice Okoro,” he said.
…Rivers’ elders take turn to speak on crisis
Speaking during the visit on behalf of others, Minority Leader House of Representatives, Hon. Chinda, said they were worried about reports of another impending demolition of a democratic institution, hence the reason for their visit.
Prior to the visit, Chinda said they had engaged experts to assess the integrity of the structures at the complex and their report showed they would last for more than 25 years.
The federal lawmaker said: “Let me salute the speaker and members of the House. The assembly complex that was brought down some leaders of the state went to the USA to get that design. When it was built, it was the best state assembly in this country. That structure is nowhere today.
“However, as members of the National Assembly from Rivers State, we have joined the leaders and elders of the state to discuss the issues happening in our state the latest being the threat to bring down the structures in this premises.
“We have commissioned engineers and experts to study and give us the report of the integrity of these structures. We have received the report. And the report says these structures have a lifespan of nothing less than 25 years.
“We have on our own come out to physically inspect the structures to crosscheck it with the report we received and these structures are still strong and healthy. Our apartments in the National Assembly are not better than what we have seen here.
“We should be proud that our state assembly occupies this quarters. It is easier to destroy than to build. The one we have destroyed have we made any move to rebuild it? Let us know that public officers should be living examples in society both in character and in conduct. Let us also caution that you must govern in line with the rule of law.
“We want to advise the governor to bridle a little bit at the exuberance that we had seen within this period. It doesn’t portend well to our state.”
Speaking further, Chinda said: “We members of the National Assembly have not spoken. We have observed. But we cannot continue to fold our hands and watch our state fly. We are coming out and we will take a position without looking at anybody.
“It will be a position that will be in the interests of the state. No one individual is larger than Rivers State. We are members, leaders, and elders of Rivers, and this state we must protect.”
Also speaking, a former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aguma, said Justice Omotosho (James of the Federal High Court)’s judgment indicted the governor as willfully destroying the assembly complex, describing the act as a criminal offence.
Aguma said: “I want to remind the governor that the same Justice Omotosho judgment had found that he willfully brought down the institution of the Parliament in the Rivers State House of Assembly by demolishing it.
“He willfully did it in order to prevent them from sitting. That is malicious damage to public property. It is a criminal offence. The red biro will run dry one day and you will be made to answer. It has not been appealed against. I want to also let him know that Rivers people will muster all democratic institutions in the world to defend democracy in Rivers.
“We will not run away. We will fight him back. Democracy is the best form of government and we will have democracy in Rivers. He should take pity on the governed and remember that Rivers State House of Assembly has made itself financially autonomous.
“It is an act of the law. So, if they have any issue that has to do with engineering and reconstruction, the law empowers them to do it by themselves. This is an edifice. It behooves on all Rivers people to defend this edifice.”
Similarly, a former Speaker of the state assembly, Ikuinyi Ibani, said their assessment had shown nothing was wrong with the structures and called on the governor to jettison any plan to tamper with the quarters.
“I am here with other leaders to show and prove to the world that democracy is the best form of government and that this is one institution that should be defended in any democratic setting.
“We have listened to the Speaker, Martins Amaewhule, who cited many rulings and judgments of courts in relation to what is happening in Rivers. For me as a former Speaker, I have a sense of disappointment at what is happening today.
“I can recall very vividly that in 2022 this project was inaugurated by Femi Gbajabiamila as the Speaker of the House of Reps. His comments were quite complementary and a useful tool for the development of Rivers. So, I am here with the other leaders to check whether there is anything wrong with the structure. There is nothing wrong with the structure.
“You don’t need to be a civil engineer to know there is nothing wrong with the structure. Public money should be channeled into the development of the state and making the people be happy. The government should try to diversify the economy.
“It is old that action and reaction are equal and opposite, but I will say that action and reaction are opposite but they are not equal. When you engage in an action and the reaction comes, there is no way the reaction will be equal, as in the case of Hammas and Israel. We will continue to support the speaker. Leaders who do not like democracy always attack democratic institutions first when they come to power,” Ibani said.
…APC lauds leaders
Commending the visiting team, chairman of the state caretaker committee chairman of the APC, Mr Okocha, said the leaders jettisoned party affiliation and came together in defence of democracy.
Okocha said: “This goes to show the world that Rivers people are united. We are one. The speaker had taken us round the premises and had given us the synopsis of what transpired when the governor in a Gestapo manner cane with thugs to harass the inhabitants here.
“27 lawmakers are members of our party and we owe them the responsibility to protect and defend them. At every twist and turn, the governor attempts to see how he can curry political patronage by claiming that he supports Mr. President. It is not true. It is a fluke.
“The world should know that they are not supporters of Mr. President. They want to lash it to see whether they can continue to engage in their illegality. As chairman of APC, Rivers State, I have taken a look at the details of voting in the past election and it is clear to me that the governor did not vote for Mr. President.”