…Rivers Crisis: We Recognize Bipi As Speaker, Says Rivers PDP
The Rivers state chairman of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Hon Felix Amaechi Obuah has said that the party recognize Hon. Evans Bipi as the speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, noting that Rt. Hon. Oelemabama Amachree is no longer the speaker.
He explained that it was unacceptable for only five lawmakers to impeach a speaker and elect a new in any normal circumstance, but noted that some of the lawmakers switched their positions and supported Bipi, but that the intervention of Amaechi disrupted the take over.
“Why did the Governor suddenly appear in the House with all his security aides! Five people cannot impeach 27 legislators but I know that something happened. When the Governor came in to the House, those who voted Evans Bipi as a new speaker switched their loyalty immediately. Do you know how many millions must have gone in there!”, Obuah alleged.
He added: “As far as Rivers state PDP is concerned, we recognize Rt. Hon. Evans Bipi as the new speaker of the Rivers state House of Assembly. Evans said that 16 out of the 32 lawmakers voted for him. This was the reason when the former leader of the House, Chidi Lloyd saw that they were losing, he ran to the Government House to tell the Governor.
“Why did the Governor suddenly appear in the House with all his security aides! Five people cannot impeach 27 legislators but I know that something happened. When the Governor came in to the House, those who voted Evans Bipi as a new speaker switched their loyalty immediately. Do you know how many millions must have gone in there!”, Obuah alleged.
Obuah also described as untrue the comment credited to Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi that the state was under siege.
The Governor had made the comment when the Senate Committee on State and Local Government Administration investigating the political crisis in the state House of Assembly visited him in Government House, Port Harcourt.
Amaechi had said: “We are under siege here, for two months now, we have not met with security men. Security Commanders in the state don’t come to me any longer. They are either scared or they don’t deliberately want to see me. They had withdrawn soldiers attached to me yesterday. And this morning, they withdrew the APC attached to Government House,” Amaechi said.
But the PDP chairman noted that the Governor’s comment was a deliberate attempt to tarnish the image of the Commissioner of Police, Mbu Joseph Mbu, who he declared as the best CP at this period.
“As far as I am concerned, that is his (Amaechi’s) opinion. Everybody in the state is going about their normal duties without any molestation. That is a way of tarnishing the image of the Police in the state and we will not accept that,” he said.
While describing the resolve of the House of Representatives to intervene in the running of the State Assembly, Obuah lauded the National the Senate for displaying maturity in its handling of the crisis.
He said that the House of Representatives did not really investigate the matter before it took the decision, noting that he was sure that the Senate Committee on State and Local Government Administration, led by Senator Kabiru Gaya would do a good job.
“Governor Amaechi is looking for a Police Commissioner that he will use to intimidate the opposition in the state. But the CP is a gentleman who does not want to tow the path of past Commissioners. His refusal to do the Governor’s will is why they are now calling for his removal”.
He however prayed that the outcome of the committee should be such that would bring a lasting peace to the state because “all of us belong here and we all need peace for democracy to have its root deepened into the political system of the state and not rancor and bitterness”.
Meanwhile, the minister of State for Education, M. Nyeson Wike has faulted the comment credited to Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka that First Lady, Patience Jonathan is behind the crisis that has engulfed the state.
Wike, who stated this when he went to the hospital to visit Hon. Micheal Chinda, the lawmaker representing Obio/Akpor Constituency II in the state Assembly, said it was wrong for Soyinka to make such comment, noting that it was capable of escalating the crisis.
“How can Prof. Wole Soyinka make such comment,” he said, urging the police to investigate the matter.
“Governor Amaechi has totally lost control of the state, that is why he went to the Assembly to disrupt proceedings in the House. You don’t need a soothsayer to tell you that he is no longer in control of the state,” he said
