RIVERS State governor and Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, Mr Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has condemned Thursday night’s police blockade of the access road to the state’s Government House, Port Harcourt, describing it as the height of lawlessness and impunity.
The governor was returning to the Government House with the Forum of former Speakers of State Houses of Assembly in Nigeria around 7:00 p.m on Thursday after an inspection of projects executed by his administration when policemen at a road block at the Port Harcourt Club junction along Forces Avenue denied him access to the Government House through that route.
While receiving the Forum later on Thursday night in the Government House, Amaechi said: “All of you saw how the former Speakers came down from the vehicle to tell them (police) where we were coming from, but the police resisted.
“It is for Nigerians to see that we no longer have democracy in this country. We are now in a regime where the law is no longer supreme. We must rise up against this impunity against our democracy.”
Speaking on the same incident, the Chairman of the former Speakers’ Forum and ex-Speaker of the Plateau State House of Assembly, Mr Simon Lalong, urged the National Assembly to urgently call for the resignation of the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, over the incident.
The former Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Senator Olorunimbe Mamora, also expressed sadness over the incident, recalling that Amaechi had to make a detour to get to the Government House with his guests.
Mamora said: “I think, to say the least, that (roadblock) was quite unfortunate because we were coming from inspection of projects. More than 70 former speakers were in the governor’s (Amaechi) entourage to inspect projects and on our way back to the Government House, we discovered that we just couldn’t pass because the road had been blocked.
It was quite unfortunate, I would repeat, because you would wonder why such a thing would happen.”
Meanwhile, the state chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has called for the arrest and prosecution of members of the party loyal to the state governor for setting up a factional office in the state capital, Port Harcourt.
But responding to the party’s call and allegation, the Chief of Staff in the state’s Government, Tony Okocha, warned the Obuah-led executive council of the party to mind his utterances about the governor.
Amaechi’s loyalists had on Thursday opened the New PDP office for the state at a ceremony, which later attracted the attention of the men of the state’s police command, who eventually sealed the new secretariat up.
Stating the old PDP’s position to the media, during a press briefing in Port Harcourt on Friday, its Secretary, Ibibia Walter, alleged that the sole purpose of setting the factional office up in the state was to cause discontent among the people of the state and an eventual mayhem.
The statement also noted that the setting up of the factional secretariat was an infringement on existing laws, especially the constitution of the party, the Nigerian Constitution and the law establishing the party.
It also stated that the state governor, Amaechi, had by the development further insulted the office and person of President Goodluck Jonathan; an offence the party would not tolerate.
No comments:
Post a Comment