The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Wednesday described ‘takeover’ via impeachment statement made by the leadership of the Rivers state All Progressives Congress (APC) as reckless and an invitation to anarchy.
Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters in Abuja, the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Hon. Debo Ologunagba, said by leaving the PDP, the lawmakers had vacated their seats.
The party has therefore called on the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, to call the Rivers state APC chairman, Chief Tony Okocha to order in other to forestall breakdown of law and order.
Chairman of APC in Rivers state, Mr. Tony Okocha, it would be recalled directed the state lawmakers to initiate an impeachment proceeding against governor of Rivers state, Siminalayi Fubara.
The PDP spokesman told newsmen that the party is already in court and had written a petition to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on the issue, adding: “APC should perish the thought of taking over Rivers.”
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 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.
“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 provides that: a member of a House of Assembly shall vacate his seat in the House if … (g) being a person whose election to the House of Assembly was sponsored by a political party, he becomes a member of another political party before the expiration of the period for which that House was elected…”
“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 seat 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).
“For clarity, Section 1 Sub-section 2 of the 1999 constitution (as amended) provides;
“The Federal Republic of Nigeria shall not be governed, nor shall any person or group of persons take control of the government of Nigeria or any part thereof, except in accordance with the provisions of this constitution”.
The PDP has therefore drawn the attention of the Inspector General of Police to the subversive utterances of the APC chairman in Rivers state, warning it was capable of triggering crisis and derailing the democratic order in the country.
Meanwhile, the Rivers state government told the elected officials of the local government areas of the state to prepare to vacate their offices on July 17, saying their tenures cannot be extended by any retrospective law of the state House of Assembly.
The government also cleared the allegations by the chairmen that it withheld the salaries and entitlements of the Emohua local government area, explaining that it was a decision of the state’s Local Government Service Commission to save the dignity and rights of local council’s employees.
Responding to the allegations of the Rivers state chapter of the Association of Local Government Areas of Nigeria (ALGON), the Commissioner for Information, Warisenibo Joe Johnson, said the aggrieved chairmen were simply pursuing a mirage.
He said the governor was not interested in local government funds but explained that only Emohua local government area’s salaries were withheld by the state’s Local Government Service Commission.
Johnson further noted that three local government areas of Emohua, Ahoada East, and Ikwerre stepped beyond their constitutional boundaries by sacking some members of staff of their councils.
He said whereas two others of Ikwerre and Ahoada east later obeyed the directives of the service commission and retraced their steps, the Emohua council refused to obey the directive.
He said: “They mentioned only Emohua. Three local government areas, Emohua, Ahoada East, and Ikwerre local government areas were involved in an act beyond their constitutional powers.
“Local government chairmen have no right to sack any local government staff. The only body vested with that responsibility is the Local Government Service Commission. The three local government areas ran into murky waters.
“But the Ahoada East and Ikwerre local councils obeyed the directives of the Local Government Service Commission but Emohua refused to do so and the commission is bent on doing the right thing. That is why the money of Emohua is withheld. Nobody is holding their money. The governor is not interested in their money”.
On the chairmen’s threat to continue in office beyond their elected tenure of three years following the recent amendment of the state’s Local Government Law by the House of Assembly, Johnson described the position of the councils’ chairmen as baseless.