Ex-militant leaders in Bayelsa State under the leadership of Eris Paul popularly known along the creeks as General Ogunboss met yesterday in Yenagoa and explained the reason for their support for the rising calls for the impeachment of the Rivers State Governor,Mr.Rotimi Amaechi over alleged misconduct and violation of the Rights of the people of the state.
According to the ex-militant leaders, though they have thrown their weight to support issues of non-violence and democracy,their support for the call for Governor Rotimi Amaechi to be removed as Governor of Rivers State is total and based on misconduct in the illegal demolition of homes of the Ijaw Indigenes of the state along the waterfronts and his involvement fraudulent acts.
In the statement signed at the end of the six hours meeting,General Ogunboss said the demonstration by other ex-militant leaders in the city of Port Harcourt is a true reflection of the mindset of the people of Rivers State.
According to him,”While we preach and teach nonviolence to our people with every ounce of energy in our bodies, we assume that part of the responsibility of good governance is to ensure that people like Amechi who is an institute of fraud, demonstrations and crisis in Rivers State are removed from office without delay.”
“We have not forgotten the abnormalities & excess use of force by the Amechi led government which in recent times had demolished houses belonging to poor Ijaws in waterfront suburbs in Port Harcourt, Okirika & other communities.I remembered how an old man, his wife & three children were forced out of their house at Rex-Lawson-Watersider and rendered homeless without Government paying them compensations.”
“I want to categorically state that Amechi’s removal as governor of Rivers State will be a big lift for us (Ijaws), & we are strongly in support of it.Families who had no intention of leaving Rivers State were forced out of Port Harcourt and since then rendered homeless to their poor little villages to begin life at old age, this is unacceptable.”
“We’ve got few bad leaderships in Nigeria who abuses power & violates the rights of people who voted them into power & Amechi is one of them.We request the Rivers State House of Assembly to save their faces from bad leadership and demonstrate their oat of office against raciest relationships.We have already won a partial victory by the “Amechi-Must-Go” daily demonstrations in Port Harcourt, & urge the State House of Assembly to listen to the voice of the people”
