colleague
Tinubu: Turmoil in state portends danger for
democracy
PDP accuses ACN of plot to destabilise polity
Our Correspondents
Rivers State Governor, Mr. Chibuike Amaechi, at the
weekend made a curious appearance at a fundraiser
to build the Christian Police Chapel in Port Harcourt,
where he shed light on the crisis of confidence that
has pitted his administration against the police
authorities in the state.
Amaechi, represented by his deputy, Mr. Tele Ikuru,
at the occasion to raise N100 million to build the
chapel, said his administration had no problem with
the police but with the state Commissioner of Police,
Mr. Joseph Mbu, whom he has accused of
partisanship in the discharge of his official duties.
The state government and Mbu have been at
loggerheads since the onset of the political crisis in
the state occasioned by the sack of the executive of
the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) loyal to Amaechi.
The crisis took a turn for the worse last Tuesday when
the police boss was accused of complicity in an
attempt by five renegade members of the 32-member
state House of Assembly to remove the Speaker, Hon.
Otelemaba Amachree.
The impeachment bid degenerated into a brawl in
the assembly as members, joined by suspected thugs,
exchanged blows.
The next day, supporters of pro and anti-Amaechi
lawmakers clashed on the streets of Port Harcourt, a
situation that compelled the police to fire tear gas
canisters into the Government House in a bid to
disperse the crowd, some of whom had converged on
the precinct of the governor's office and official
residence.
Last week's melee in the state has continued to
attract reactions as the Conference of Speakers of
State Legislatures of Nigeria at the weekend
condemned the attempt by the five Rivers State
lawmakers to remove the speaker.
The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) also urged the
Police Service Commission (PSC) to address the
causes rather than the symptoms of the crisis in the
state.
While the National Leader of the ACN, Senator Bola
Ahmed Tinubu, accused the PDP of inflicting yet
another mortal blow on Nigeria's democracy, he
warned that the crisis in Rivers State portends a
grave danger for constitutional democracy and
individual liberties.
Amaechi, at the fundraiser, told the gathering that
the current face-off between the state government
and the police was an individual issue, which had not
affected the relationship between both institutions.
He said: "As a matter of fact, one will wonder why
Rivers State is here today, especially when you know
we are having issues with the police here and there. It
is neither here nor there; but the bottom line is
whether we are having issues or not, wherever we see
a good thing we support it.
"I say so because today, in the history of the police
force, at your headquarters, for the first time, you
have been able to muster enough courage to say it is
time we seek the face of God.
"And in seeking the face of God you said let us put up
an edifice. Let us gather and build a house for the
Lord.
"So I want to reassure you that the Rivers State
Government is your partner. Whatever may have
happened is on individual basis. As a government in
this entire country, for those who have been
privileged to serve in Rivers State, you know that
Rivers State supports the police most in this entire
country."
The governor, who extolled the role of the police in
curbing militancy in the state, said there was no way
militancy would have ended but for the sacrifice of
officers and men of the police force.
Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) in charge of
Works Department, Kachi Udoji, who represented
the Inspector General of Police (IG), Mohammed
Abubakar, said the IG was in support of the church
building project, pointing out that the event would
not have been possible without his approval.
Over N22 million was realised at the fundraiser,
which was also attended by Edo State Governor,
Adams Oshiomhole, who was represented by his
deputy, Chief Pius Odubu.
Also at the weekend, the conference of speakers
condemned the attempt by five Rivers State
lawmakers to remove their speaker, describing it as
unconstitutional and an enormous threat to the
country's democracy.
According to the chairman of the conference and
Gombe State House of Assembly Speaker, Hon.
Inuwa Garba, the action of the five legislators
violated Section 92(2)(c) of the 1999 Constitution.
Garba, at a press conference in Gombe, said a
speaker of any state House of Assembly could only be
removed from office by a vote of two-thirds of the
entire members of the House, adding that five cannot
constitute two-thirds of 32 as was the case in Rivers
State.
The body of speakers called on the National Assembly
to intervene to save the country's democracy from
derailment.
It also asked the National Assembly to explore the
constitutional process to mete out punishments to
the five errant legislators, in order to serve as a
deterrent to others who might be nursing similar
plans.
It urged the police in Rivers State to provide
adequate security at the state House of Assembly to
ensure smooth legislative activities.
However, reacting to the decision by the PSC to probe
the involvement of its personnel in the fracas in
Rivers State last week, ACN urged the commission to
address the causes rather than the symptoms of the
crisis in the state.
The party said the probe should dig deeper into the
genesis of the crisis.
In a statement yesterday by its National Publicity
Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the
statement credited to PSC Chairman Mike Okiro on
the probe, suggested that the commission was only
interested in the role of the police in last week
clashes, rather than how the police hierarchy in the
state wantonly allowed the flare-up because of its
partisanship.
"Governor Amaechi of Rivers has documented, in a
much-publicised letter to Mr. Okiro how the Police
Commissioner in Rivers, Mr. Mbu Joseph Mbu, has
thrown professionalism to the wind in pursuit of his
narrow agenda at the expense of the security of the
state.
"It is on record that this 'political policeman' has
worsened the security situation in the state since he
assumed office in February 2013 by undermining the
authority of the governor as the chief security officer
of his state; undermining the security structure put
in place by the State Security Council; and
compromising the council to such an extent that
members are no longer free to speak their minds
during meetings," ACN added.
According to the party, while the PSC will be right to
sanction even the policemen shown to have acted
badly that day, the sanctions must be extended to
their bosses who allowed the fracas to happen, adding
that "anything short of that will be akin to punishing
a bus conductor for an accident involving his vehicle
while exonerating the bus driver."
ACN also reiterated that President Jonathan could
not be absolved of blame for the crisis; as much as his
aides and the PDP have struggled to distance him
from it.
"Anyone with a conscience knows that the root of the
problem in Rivers lies in the president's bedroom,
and no amount of fanciful statements or name calling
targeted at those who are conscientious enough to
call a spade a spade will change that.
"This is why we are insisting that the president must
be impeached by the National Assembly for his
failure to respect the rule of law and the Constitution
of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which he has
taken an oath to uphold," the party said.
On his part, Tinubu said the PDP had inflicted yet
another mortal blow to Nigeria's democracy, warning
that the crisis in Rivers State portends a grave danger
for constitutional democracy and individual liberties.
According to the former Lagos State governor, "With
the latest drama in the Rivers State House of
Assembly, the PDP is at it again. The ruling party has
inflicted yet another mortal injury on Nigeria's
democracy.
"As the House reconvened after a recent
adjournment due to a police failure to provide
adequate security to this legislative body, thugs hired
by sinister forces allied to the powers in Abuja were
unleashed on the unsuspecting majority in the State
Assembly.
"All this occurred under the watchful eye but idle
hand of the police officers deployed to guard the
chamber. We can say the police in Rivers became an
accomplice to an illegal attack on the very
government and constitution they pledged to uphold.
"This was a shameful moment but even worse is a
likely foretaste of the partisan role the police will take
in coming elections."
Tinubu said the PDP had added public brawls to its
list of accomplishments, stating, "The self-proclaimed
largest party in Africa has turned into a fight club
that employs the police as ushers for its matches.
"The PDP and the presidency were quick to disavow
any involvement. However, we all know the truth but
most are afraid to speak. I shall speak.
"There is no way the police and the small number of
five lawmakers would act so brazenly unless they
received instructions from high places.
"Nigerians must ask, 'Is this the way President
Jonathan intends to transform Nigeria?' By turning it
from an imperfect democracy into a perfect mess?"
Tinubu said the country was witnessing a total lack of
respect for constitutional democracy. "Governor
Rotimi Amaechi swore an oath to protect and serve
the people of Rivers State. He is thus empowered by
the constitution to carry out this function.
"Not even the police force has the constitutional right
to impede him from carrying out his functions as
governor.
"Yet, we have a federal government under whose
eager eyes an assault on our constitution is taking
place in the open. My advice is that we should not
leave Governor Amaechi to suffer his fate alone. All
true democrats must defend constitutional
democracy and true federalism.
"In what stable and functioning democracy can you
find a president or his agents bully a governor this
way or violate the federal constitution so openly with
complete impunity?" Tinubu asked.
He warned that when the interest of the nation is
subjugated so that the narrow and parochial interest
of a clique in power is served, events like the crisis in
Rivers State would soon become common place.
"As a new breed of imperial rulers run amok and with
impunity violate Nigeria's constitution, the days
ahead seem gloomy and uncertain," he added.
The ACN leader called on discerning minds to locate
the present crisis in the suspected injustice in the
Bayelsa and Rivers State oil boundary legal battle.
He, however, added that in some ways, the Rivers
episode was unsurprising, saying: "Over and over
again, the PDP has attempted to scuttle fair elections
and genuine democratic processes.
"Undermining democracy has become a central plank
in the party's manifesto. What happened in the
Rivers House is one more reminder. PDP leaders hold
democracy in contempt and will trample it if given
the slightest opportunity.
"If they invert the relatively small numbers involved
in the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) and the
Rivers State House, what they might do to general
election involving such a large population as ours, is a
hard piece of wood to chew."
But in a swift response to ACN, the ruling PDP
accused the opposition party of plotting to distabilise
the democratic system in the country, following its
renewed call for the impeachment of the president
over the recent developments in the Rivers State
House of Assembly
In a statement issued Sunday in Abuja by the PDP
acting National Publicity Secretary, Tony Caesar
Okeke, the party said the call was an indication that
the opposition party was indeed unserious, lacked
direction and only seeks to distabilise the polity.
Reiterating that it does not in anyway lend support to
the violence recently witnessed in the Rivers State
House of Assembly, the PDP said brawls were
common features in parliaments across the world and
wondered how the recent fray in Rivers assembly
translates into an impeachable offence on the part of
the president.
"Our attention has been drawn to the renewed call by
the opposition Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) for
the impeachment of President Goodluck Jonathan
over the recent developments in the Rivers State
House of Assembly.
"This is indeed a sign that the ACN is bereft of
direction, plagued by inadequate understanding of
the laws and only seeks to distabilise the polity for
selfish reasons.
"For the avoidance of doubt, President Goodluck
Jonathan had nothing to do with the activities of the
Rivers State House of Assembly and had no link
whatsoever in the recent developments in that
legislative house.
"As much as we do not condone the violence
witnessed recently in the Rivers State House of
Assembly, it is imperative to point out that brawls
are usual phenomena in parliaments and on no
occasion has any reasonable person called for the
impeachment of the president of a country as a result
of legislative brawls," the statement said.
The party recalled the fracas in Ogun State House of
Assembly earlier this year, during which the mace
was destroyed and noted that nobody called for the
impeachment of Governor Ibikunle Amosun.
The PDP gave similar examples of recent brawls in
legislative houses across the world including that of
the Ukrainian parliament in March 2013, Taiwanese
parliament in June 2013, Venezuelan parliament in
May 2013, Turkish Parliament in March 2013,
Jordanian parliament in March 2013, and the
Georgia lawmakers' brawl in the United States,
during a TV show in February 2013, among others.
The ruling party said nobody called for the
impeachment of the presidents of those countries on
account of those brawls.
The PDP, however, reiterated its call on its members
in Rivers State to maintain decorum, remain law-
abiding and be calm.
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