Tag: Rivers crisis

Supporters of Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State and those of the Supervising Minister of Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, are poised for a war of rallies in the state tomorrow,a week after the police broke up a similar gathering in Port Harcourt.

Senator Magnus Abe (Rivers Southeast),a supporter of the governor   was shot ,allegedly by the police,at that rally and is currently receiving treatment abroad.

The pro-Amaechi rally,organised by Save Rivers Movement (SRM),is scheduled to take place at Bori, the traditional headquarters of Ogoniland and the seat of Khana LGA while the pro-Wike rally is the brainchild of Grassroots Development Initiative (GDI).

It is slated for Degema-Kalabari,  headquarters of Degema LGA.

  Spokesman for  GDI, Omunakwe Godwill, said  yesterday in Port Harcourt, that  the group’s rally would go ahead as planned  as Wike is determined to ‘rescue’ Rivers people from impunity.

 Counsel to the pro-Amaechi  SRM, Ken Atsuwete, said on phone that he was at the Rivers police headquarters Port Harcourt yesterday , to deliver a letter   for Police Commissoner Joseph Mbu, to inform him of the Bori rally.

 Atsuwete, a  human rights activist, said SRM’s letter was to ensure protection by the security personnel and not for police permit.

 Mbu had declared that it was not yet time for political campaigns and vowed to stop any political gathering in the state.

Atsuwete saw nothing wrong in the two rival groups  holding rallies simultaneously.

Meanwhile, an organisation of young Ogoni professionals, the Ogoni Generation Next Project, which has Kadilo Kabari as Facilitator, has condemned the GDI and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for alleged sponsorship of anti-Abe protests in Ogoniland and other parts of the state.

It said the    “sponsorship of the youths to protest was aimed at questioning the veracity of the attack on Senator Abe. The police troopers provided security for the anti-Senator Abe protesters. It is a darker reminder of the ugly past.”

 The Ogoni young professional also called on Ogoni and other citizens of Rivers state to put an end to the show of shame and asked for the implementation of the recommendations contained in the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report on Ogoniland.

The six pro-Wike members of the crisis ridden Rivers State House of Assembly are spoiling to resume sitting on Tuesday,Director-General of the PDP in the state, Emeka Woke,said yesterday.

Woke, an engineer,spoke on the second day of the barricading of the assembly complex by the Police who said they were awaiting the appropriate court order before throwing the door of the House open for the first time since it was shut in July.

“Enough is enough,” the PDP Director-General said in reaction to the police action.

He vowed that the self –acclaimed Speaker and leader of the pro-Wike legislators,Evan Bipi, would preside at the sitting.

Bipi himself boasted that he would declare vacant the seat of any of the 29 pro-Amaechi legislators defecting to the All Progressives Congress (APC) with Governor Rotimi Amaechi.

The APC yesterday alleged that the six minority legislators have been recruiting thugs that would aid their planned take-over of the assembly for the purpose of commencing impeachment proceeding against Governor Amaechi.

Beside, the political camp of the governor suggested that the sole objective of the minority lawmakers is to create an atmosphere of fear and terror with a view to inviting a state of emergency.

The state,especially the capital,Port Harcourt ,was on edge for much of yesterday with the police battling supporters of the two sides from marching on the shut assembly.

Police Commissioner Mbu Joseph Mbu said he would reopen the complex only on the receipt of a valid court order to that effect.

Woke, a two-term Chairman of the Emohua Local Government Council of Rivers State, accused the pro-Amaechi lawmakers of acting drama.

He claimed that there is no crisis in Rivers PDP.

A source in the governor’s camp said the six legislators are bent on removing the governor and his deputy, Tele Ikuru, for an administrator to take over.

However,the Chief of Staff, Government House, Port Harcourt, Chief Tony Okocha, said that Amaechi, Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), would complete his tenure in 2015 “by God’s grace,” and that Rivers people would decide his successor.

The pro-Amaechi lawmakers, led by the Deputy Speaker, Leyii Kwanee, are weighing the option of going to court to resume sitting.

Twenty-five of them,excluding Speaker Dan Amachree who is indisposed,were joined by members of the National Assembly from the state, loyal to Amaechi, the Chief of Staff, Local Government chairmen and other top politicians, yesterday occupied a portion of Moscow Road, near the Rivers House of Assembly.They sat on bare ground after the police prevented the lawmakers from entering the assembly complex.

The legislators decided to sit on the ground when they were not allowed to bring chairs from the nearby secretariat of the Port Harcourt City Council.

In front of Alfred Diete-Spiff Civic Centre,acting their own drama, were the six minority leagislators and the Secretary-General of the Grassroots Development Initiative (GDI), Samuel Nwanosike.

As Nwanosike was addressing reporters that Evans Bipi would soon arrive to speak to the crowd, policemen in an Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC), marked NPF 4004 A, started firing teargas canisters at them.

This sparked a stampede with everyone scampering to safety.

Member of the House of Representatives from Andoni-Opobo/Nkoro in Rivers, Dakuku Peterside, denounced the police barricade of the assembly and the teargassing innocent people.

Soon after the teargas subsided, Bipi, who represents Ogu/Bolo constituency, arrived at the civic centre at 10:41 am, but was not allowed to move close to the barricaded House of Assembly.

He then moved to the popular Lagos Bus Stop and told reporters that he would declare the seats of the 25 pro-Amaechi lawmakers vacant should they follow Amaechi to the APC.

“I will bring peace back to the Rivers House of Assembly. There will be lasting peace, if the pro-Amaechi lawmakers discountenance the advice of the Rivers governor, by not following him to the APC. If they move to the APC, I will declare their seats vacant. I have the power to do so,” he said.

He added:“We are processing the CTC (Certified True Copy) of the judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja. We will sit very soon. We are lawabiding. Nobody can intimidate us.

“Magnus Abe (the representative of the Rivers South East Senatorial District in the National Assembly) was the happiest person when the Rivers House of Assembly was handed over to the National Assembly. I have brought back the Rivers House of Assembly.”

The element dramatically intervened in forcing the politicians and their supporters off the street when it began to rain at 11.47 am.

Police Commisioner Mbu, who is scheduled to depart the state tomorrow preparatory to his one-year course at the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru near Jos said the policemen would not allow any politician into the complex, without a court order.

He said it is none of his business to decide who would preside in the Assembly, between Bipi and Otelemaba Dan Amachree.

Mbu said: “There are two contending issues. To my right are legislators who said they are pro-Gov Amaechi. To my left, I understand there are legislators who said they are against Governor Amaechi. If you were in my shoes, would you allow both of them to come into the Assembly? They are going to clash.

“If we get the appropriate judgment, we’ll go through it.We will come to the Assembly, we will sweep the Assembly. We are going to bring the Bomb Disposal Unit; we are going to bring the Dog Section, they will sniff round and make sure there is nothing that is going to harm any member of the House.”

Mbu added: “Yesterday (Thursday), you saw what happened. For Christ sake, they are honourable members, why should they not behave honourably? You saw how lawless they were yesterday? Court ruling came up the previous day, not even 12 hours, not quite 12 hours; they all thronged out with hooligans following them.

“In my capacity as the Rivers Police Commissioner, I owe every citizen the responsibility to protect and I said, no, go home, when we get the court order, we will sweep the place (House of Assembly) in your own interest. We will allow you to come in.

“You saw them taking chairs and sitting down, defying police orders, and they are lawmakers. It is a shame. I am not a politician. I am here to do my duties and I know my duties. I have spent about 29 years in this job. So, I know what I am doing.”

Deploring the police action, Deputy Speaker Leyii Kwanee said: “From what we are seeing outside here, we are seeing the Assembly complex. It is in a very sorry state.”

“So, when we leave here, we are going to meet with the executive arm of the government, to see what they can do for immediate renovation. You know the electrical gadgets were damaged during the crisis and they are expensive.

“We are going to look at the legal provisions, as they relate to the sitting of the House. As soon as we are properly briefed, legally, we will know what next line of action to take, because the interest of Rivers people cannot not be jeopardised.”

Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State and the estranged Police Commissioner Mbu J.Mbu met face-to-face on Wednesday in Port Harcourt for the first time in several months.

The most important issue discussed at the meeting, which was also attended by other top-ranking military and law enforcement chiefs, was the increasing wave of insecurity in the state.

The governor on Thursday announced the dissolution of the Obio/Akpor Local Government Council, 48 hours after a state High Court declared the April suspension of the LG chairman, Mr. Timothy Nsirim, and his councillors by the state House of Assembly unconstitutional.

Mr. Nsirim declared yesterday that the council’s dissolution is of no effect and that he is fully in charge as its boss.

The initial suspension of the council by the state Assembly had sparked violence on the floor of the House with Amaechi blaming Mbu for taking sides in the political crisis in the state and not doing enough to curb crime.

He asked the police authorities to remove Mbu.

The police boss subsequently stopped meeting with the governor.

However, Mbu confirmed yesterday that he attended Wednesday’s security meeting at the Government House and spoke of the readiness of all the security agencies to collaborate with a view to ensuring a crime-free Christmas.

He said no fewer than 97 armed robbery suspects, including a 10-man gang that allegedly robbed a bank recently, had been arrested.

The police chief also announced the arrest of 48 other suspects for alleged kidnapping,sea piracy and cultism.

He assured residents of the state of security and safety, and warned criminals to either turn new leafs or relocate from the state, stressing that the police would leave no stone unturned in fighting them.

“Because of these EMBER months, we are now meeting every week to review our strategy; not only the strategy of the command, but all of us, the service commanders, the Army, Navy Air Force and SSS have been collaborating to ensure that crime is brought to the lowest minimum.

“We had a security meeting with His Excellency the governor at the Government House. After that, we met in my office, all in the effort to chart a way to ensure that crime is reduced,” he said.

The Secretary to the Rivers State Government (SSG), Mr.George Feyii, who broke the news of the council dissolution on Thursday night, said: “Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, the Governor of Rivers State, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by the Rivers State Local Government Law, 2012, has approved the dissolution of the Obio/Akpor Local Government Council with effect from November 28.

“Consequently, the Chairman of the Obio/Akpor Local Government Council is hereby directed to hand over to the Head of Personnel Management (HPM) of the council immediately.”

However, Mr. Nsirim said on Rhythm FM, Port Harcourt yesterday that he had resumed work in his office and vowed that he would never hand over to anybody.

The Obio/Akpor LG Legislative Council at yesterday’s sitting passed a resolution affirming Nsirim as chairman.

But the Head of Local Government Administration (HLGA) of the council, Singer Azubuike Singer, in an interview yesterday in Port Harcourt, maintained that he was now fully in charge of the Obio/Akpor Local Government by provisions of the law.

The Rivers State Government stated that there was no absolute restraining court order against Amaechi or the Rivers government, while calling on the Rivers police led by Mbu to rise against partisanship.

A renowned Port Harcourt-based legal practitioner, Ken Atsuwete, who is also a human rights activist, maintained that the law empowering Amaechi to dissolve the Obio/Akpor Local Government Council was sacrosanct.

Singer said: “The Thursday’s announcement by the Rivers Governor, dissolving the Obio/Akpor Local Government Council and authorising the handing over of the affairs of the local government to the Head of Local Government, is in accordance with the law.

“I, as the Head of Local Government Administration, I accept the responsibility. I also see it as a step to peace in the local government area. I want to use this opportunity to ask the workers to go about their normal official assignments. They should come to work. Nobody will molest anybody.

“I want to use this opportunity to call on all revenue agents or revenue payers to the Obio/Akpor Local Government not to pay any revenue to any individual. There are designated banks where they should go and pay their revenues. Where anyone defaults that directive and pay to an individual, you are doing so at your own risk because it will be assumed that you have not paid.”

Singer said he reported for work at 8am yesterday and did not see Nsirim.

He said: “I did not meet with him at the secretariat .When I went to the office, I did not meet with him. They said he drove out. He has not handed over to me.”

The Chief of Staff, Government House, Port Harcourt, Chief Tony Okocha, insisted that the Obio/Akpor Local Government was dissolved in line with the Rivers Local Government Law.

Okocha asked the people of the state to remain calm and law abiding.

The state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr.Worgu Boms, at a press conference in Port Harcourt described Nsirim’s claim to the office of chairman as an exhibition of impunity.

He said: “No where in the 25-page judgment by Justice Iyayi-Lamikanra was Governor Amaechi restrained from dissolving the Obio/Akpor Local Government Council. No absolute restraining order against Governor Amaechi and the Rivers State government.

“Justice Iyayi-Lamikanra did not declare the Rivers State Local Government Law, 2012 invalid. Section 64 of the law is very clear on Governor Amaechi’s decision to dissolve the Obio/Akpor Local Government Council.

“The provision was not struck down by Justice Iyayi-Lamikanra, but she said the members of the Rivers State House of Assembly were wrong to have suspended Nsirim, his deputy (Solomon Eke) and the 17 councillors.

“We do not agree with Justice Iyayi-Lamikanra’s judgment because she had no jurisdiction to proceed to deliver the judgment because of our appeal at the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt. There was a motion on stay of execution.”

The Deputy Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Hon. Leyii Kwanee, also said that the dissolution of the council is legal.

Kwanee, who was fielding questions from reporters in Port Harcourt yesterday, said that the decision of Nsirim not to handover to anybody would amount to “an act of illegality if he says so.”

Meanwhile,the PDP in Rivers State yesterday expressed shock at the council dissolution by Governor Amaechi.

The party,in a statement by Mr.Jerry Needam, spokesman for the PDP chairman,described the governor’s action as an irony of history.

“Rotimi Amaechi, who became Governor through court process without contesting an election, today disdains the same process he benefited from,” the party said.

“Is this not impunity in the worst form? Must this injustice be allowed to continue in Rivers State unchallenged?”

The PDP asked Nsirim, the council Vice Chairman and the 17 councilors of the council to “go about their normal duties without any fear” and said the dissolution “is hereby declared null and void, illegal, unconstitutional and in defiance of a subsisting court judgment, and, therefore, has no effect.”

The Deputy Governor of Rivers State, Tele Ikuru, and other elected and appointed public office holders loyal to Governor Rotimi Amaechi are facing imminent suspension by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Their offence is their  refusal to appear before the Perfomance Assessment Committee set up by the Obuah faction of the party in the state to evaluate their performance since their election/appointment.

The governor and the 27 members of the state House of Assembly on his side in the protracted crisis in the party are already suspended and excluded from the performance  evaluation.

The Osinakachukwu Ideozu-led committee however invited  Ikuru,an engineer,the three senators,13 members of the House of Representatives from the state  and council chairmen many of whom are loyal to the governor.

They have so far  refused to honour the invitation.

Also invited was  the Minister of State for Education,Chief  Nyesom Wike who is the arrowhead of the opposition to the governor.

It was gathered yesterday that the plan to suspend the ‘errant’ party men is to ensure their non-participation  in next week’s mini national convention  of the PDP in Abuja.

When contacted yesterday,Chief Felix Obuah,the factional PDP Chairman said he was at a meeting.

However,sources close to his faction said: “The associates of Amaechi, who refuse to honour the invitation of the members of the committee led by Ideozu, formally inaugurated by Bro. Felix Obuah, will definitely be suspended.

“When they are all suspended like Amaechi from the PDP, they will appreciate the supremacy of the party. Nobody will force or beg them to appear.

“They (Amaechi’s loyalists) will know the importance of belonging to the PDP on August 31, during the special national convention of the party in Abuja, when they will not be part of Rivers state delegates of the PDP.”

Ideozu, at the committee’s inaugural sitting on Thursday,  said it was not set up to witch-hunt anybody, but to examine how the officers elected to oversee the welfare of the people  discharged the responsibilities in line with public expectations and to be better informed in preparing for future elections.

The Press Secretary to the Rivers deputy governor, Godswill Jumbo, in a telephone interview yesterday, said: “My boss is in Abuja. He is attending  some  meetings in Aso Rock. The Ideozu committee did not invite him in writing. I am not aware of any communication to that effect.

“I have contacted him (Ikuru) through text, to let him know about the development, but he is yet to reply (at 4 pm). As soon as he replies, I will let you know, but note that before appearing before the committee, he must seek clearance from Governor Amaechi.”

Senator  Magnus Ngei Abe could not be reached.

His  Special Adviser on Media, Honour Sirawoo, said at 4:07 pm yesterday: “Was he (Abe) invited by the committee? Nobody has seen any letter inviting Senator Magnus Abe to appear before the committee. He is not aware of the performance assessment by the Chief Felix Obuah-led PDP.

“Senator Abe is a very loyal member of the PDP. You are aware that the National Assembly members are on recess and the distinguished Senator is out of the country. I have not been able to reach him.”

Representative Dakuku Peterside (Andoni-Opobo/Nkoro ) an ally of Amaechi, could also  not be reached  at press time.

Amaechi’s bid to stop the committee members from assessing his loyalists   suffered a setback on August 20 when Justice Godspower Aguma of the State High Court dismissed a suit filed by him against the panel.

A former National Organizing Secretary of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, ex-Rivers Chairman of the party and a loyalist of Wike, appeared before the committee on Thursday and described the performance assessment as an excellent idea, for the officers to be up and doing.

The ex-Rivers PDP chairman (Secondus) stated that he decided to submit himself to the committee to render the account of his stewardship, as a loyal party member and because the order was from the party.

He said: “Anybody current with what is going on all over the world will know that politics is dynamic and we cannot be left out of the changing situation. The idea is very much in order.”

The Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt yesterday annulled the Justice Biobele Georgewill Judicial Commission of Enquiry probing the July 9 and 10 fracas in the state House of Assembly.

The court branded the commission of enquiry unconstitutional and ordered it to stop sitting forthwith. Besides, it restrained the governor and the state’s Attorney-General for themselves and as representatives of the government from receiving, accepting or howsoever implementing any report or recommendation from the judicial commission of enquiry.

Justice Iyayi Lanmikaran, in granting the two reliefs sought by the applicant, Mr. Victor Ihunwo, one of the five anti-Amaechi members of the State Assembly, held that the executive has no right to dabble into the affairs of the legislature under the 1999 Constitution.

The panel was set up by Governor Rotimi Amaechi to probe the fracas which was sparked when the five assemblymen who were on suspension stormed the House to impeach Speaker Otelamaba Dan Amachree and install their own speaker in Mr. Evans Bipi.

The attempt was resisted by the majority of the lawmakers who are on the side of the governor in the crisis that has polarised the PDP in the state.

Justice Lanmikaran also faulted part of the commission’s terms of reference which, according to her, infringes on criminal issues that ought to be handled by regular courts.

Counsel to the commission, Mr. Olusola Dare said: “It’s the court’s decision; we have accepted the judgment.

“The Judge has delivered her judgement. Everybody is bound by the judgment.

“The only thing applicable now is for us to decide the next line of action. We accept the judgment for now.

He said he would consult with his clients first to know whether the case would go on appeal.

The applicant, Ihunwo, lauded the court’s judgment and said “God has vindicated me.”

Restating his reasons for going to court in the first instance, Ihunwo said:“Chibuike Amaechi, governor of the state, is an interested party. So, as an interested party, he cannot be a judge in his own case. As a result, we know that we cannot get any good judgment from the panel he has set up.

“Some members of the panel are somehow related to him, e.g Agbaraosimili who has total loyalty to the chief of staff and the governor.

“This matter concerns the legislative arm of government and on no account can the Executive come in to settle our internal wrangling.

“It behoves on us to settle our matters by ourselves, and by this judgement, God has vindicated us.”

Asked if the PDP crisis could ever end, he said: “I can’t say that we, the five law makers loyal to Evans Bipi, are not ready for peace. What has happened today is a proof to the world that we are ready for peace.

His counsel, Dike Udenna, said: “The incident we are talking about happened in the hallowed chambers of the Rivers State House of Assembly. By the doctrine of separation of power, the legislative arm of government is different and distinct from the executive arm. The Executive cannot now rise up to set up an enquiry to investigate the internal workings of the other arm of government.”

The State’s Attorney General and Commisioner for Justice declined comment on the verdict.

The Obuah faction of the PDP in the state lauded the ruling with Mr. Jerry Needam, Special Adviser on Media to the Chairman, Hon Felix Obuah, saying the nullification of the commission has “vindicated the position of the party that the setting up of the Commission ab initio was ill-intended and had no other motive than to witch-hunt perceived opponents of Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi who is also a party in the crisis.”

The party hailed the courage displayed by the judiciary to “insist on the truth and the fact that Gov Amaechi who was physically present at the scene of the incident and fully took part in the fracas cannot deny being part of the crisis and therefore cannot turn round to investigate the matter in whatever guise, as that would amount to a breach of natural justice to be a judge in one’s own case.

“We are happy and wish to express our renewed confidence in the Nigerian judiciary to uphold justice in the face of intimidation and wanton display of power.

“Particularly noteworthy is the recognition of the fact that the state legislature is a separate arm of government as significant as both the executive and the judiciary and must not be hijacked by either of the arms.”

It wondered why individual members of the dissolved commission of enquiry accepted to serve in such a body “which it described as a tool for indictment of opponents and probably, also aimed to rubbish the hard earned reputation of the members of the panel.”

A member of the House of Representatives from the state, Chief Andrew Uchendu, however expressed shock at the court’s decision.

Uchendu, Chairman of the House Committee on Public Service Matters, said the state government reserved the right to look at the logic and basis on which the ruling was made and decide if it should accept or appeal the ruling.

Wanosike Samuel, Secretary-General of Grassroots Development Initiative (GDI), which has the Minister of State for Education Nyesom Wike as patron, described the ruling as a testament to the fact that the judiciary remains the last hope of the common man.

“The judiciary has always stood by the people of Rivers State and has always come to their rescue. We are happy and we congratulate the entire people of the state for this well delivered judgment,” he said.

Earlier in the week, the commission had summoned the Minister of State for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike; Chief Felix Obuah; and the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Joseph Mbu, to appear before it to respond to allegations against them. Other persons summoned by the commission include lawmakers opposed to Governor Amaechi.

The representative of the Rivers West Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Senator Wilson Ake, has described the “unguarded” utterances of the Minister of State for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, as grandstanding for political relevance.

He also stated that some persons from Rivers State allowed themselves to be used, a situation he described as very unfortunate and shocking.

Ake, who is also the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Employment, Labour and Productivity, stated these yesterday in an interview in Port Harcourt, expressed displeasure over the refusal of the Federal Government to redeploy the Rivers Commissioner of Police, Mbu Joseph Mbu.

He noted that the self-acclaimed “Speaker” of the Rivers House of Assembly, Evans Bipi, who represents the Ogu/Bolo constituency, was simply displaying ignorance by publicly announcing that the key of the Assembly was in his pocket and they could sit at anytime, despite taking over of the functions of the House by the National Assembly.

Wike, a former Chief of Staff, Government House, Port Harcourt and the Director-General of the Amaechi Campaign Organisation in 2011, is an Ikwerre like Governor Rotimi Amaechi who is also the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF).

The Minister of State for Education, who is also the grand patron of the Grassroots Development Initiative (GDI), two weeks ago in Port Harcourt at a GDI event, publicly stated that he would make Rivers State ungovernable and life uncomfortable for Amaechi, unless he begs him.

The senator said: “I am not against Wike’s governorship ambition in 2015 or anybody showing interest in any position. There is no law against it. We only have moral and political understanding that allows people to indicate their interests, according to the dictates of the moment.

“If you are interested in a political office, you should not cause mayhem or problems for people, especially with Wike’s declaration that people will no longer be sleeping with their eyes closed because of danger. It is condemnable.

“When Amaechi was contesting, he was not the only person. People showed interest, but the understanding was there, like an unwritten rule, for positions to go elsewhere, not to be retained in the same place.

“All of us are reasonable about it because we want peace in Rivers State. We want everybody to have a sense of belonging. That is why we feel that no matter how good you are, you should allow others to partake. Wike’s ambition is not wrong, but the way he is going about it is heating up the polity.

“The crisis is because of political interest. All the grandstanding is for political relevance. Peace will definitely come. The only concern is that anybody who has gone too far, how does he retrace his steps?

“If they did not allow themselves to be used, all these things (crises) would not have happened. We must always put the interest of the state first because the state is bigger than individuals.”

Wike, who responded through the Secretary-General of the GDI, Samuel Nwanosike, described Ake’s allegations as laughable and senseless.

He said: “Wilson Ake is angry because his elder brother (Chief Godspower Ake) was sacked as Rivers State PDP Chairman by an Abuja High Court in April. What else do you expect from a drowning man?

“Ake has never moved any motion in the Senate. He has not represented his senatorial district well. His allegations are laughable and senseless.

“When Wike supported Amaechi in 2007 and ensured his re-election in 2011 as chairman of his campaign organisation, the minister was not abused. Wike is standing for Rivers people and cannot be intimidated.

“Whenever President Goodluck Jonathan declares his intention to seek re-election, Wike and most Niger Deltans will support their kinsman who is doing well. The senator should retrace his steps.”

Ake also stated that with the July 9 fracas in the hallowed chambers of the Rivers House of Assembly, it would not be ideal for the members to sit now, to avoid a breakdown of law and order.

He declared that it was still unsafe for the Rivers lawmakers to be allowed to sit, stating that it would amount to taking a big risk.

The senator noted that taking over the Rivers Assembly by the National Assembly was to prevent additional problems by letting the tempers calm down and people begin to talk to one another for reason to prevail, maintaining that it was not an indefinite take over.

He said: “The Senate carried out investigation, to know what led to the crisis before taking a position. Two heads are better than one. The Senate and the House of Representatives declared that the Commissioner of Police should give way to ensure peace in Rivers State.

“If we desire peace in Rivers State, the first person to be sent away is Mbu because his actions were very obvious and everybody saw that he was playing politics out of the whole thing and condemned the Rivers State Governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, quite enough for him to be asked to go.”

“The National Assembly members are on long recess. By the time we come back, decision will be taken on the issue because we are the largest representatives of the people who gather together in one place. If 439 persons took a decision, a reasonable person should look at it critically. It is very unfortunate that the IGP is yet to redeploy Mbu.”

THE Rivers Peoples’ Forum (RPF) has restated its call for the immediate arrest and prosecution of Minister of State for Education, Nyesom Wike over his comments in Port Harcourt this past weekend, which they said was dangerous to democracy in the country. The group said Wike’s comments posed a threat to the peace and security of Rivers State and could lead to a breakdown of law and order, if the minister was not checked. Wike on Saturday last week, at an event in Port Harcourt had said that, “for those who think that they can destroy Obio- Akpor Local Government Council, we will make life uncomfortable for them. We will make sure they will not sleep again. When they are sleeping, they will not sleep with their two eyes closed. One eye will be open because they know there is danger.” Wike was referring to the former chairman and councilors of Obio-Akpor Local Government Area who were suspended by the Rivers State House of Assembly for the House to carry out investigations for alleged monumental fraud and corruption against them RPF, in a statement signed by its President, Charles Bekwele described the comments of Wike as a direct threat to the good people of Rivers State, that can lead to a breach of peace and security. It urged security agencies to take steps to curtail the excesses of Nyesom Wike. “First, Obio-Akpor Council was not destroyed. Its former council chairman, Timothy Nsirim and councilors were only suspended by the Rivers State House of Assembly to enable the House investigate allegations of monumental fraud and corruption against them. And the state Assembly had repeatedly said they would be reinstated if they are not found guilty at the end of the investigations. And we must also bear in mind that it is constitutionally the function of the state legislators to oversee, supervise and check the excesses of local councils. “These legislators were elected by Rivers people to represent them in the Assembly. This also means that whatever action they take in the House (including the suspension) was taken by Rivers people since we voted them and gave them our mandate to represent us in the Assembly. This then translates to the fact that the junior minister’s threat is a direct threat to the good people of Rivers State. “Nyesom Wike must be arrested and prosecuted now for threatening the lives of Rivers people, for threatening the peace and security of Rivers State. As a matter of fact, his comments are dangerous to our democracy, Wike is a danger to our democracy. Comments like that can easily lead to a breach of peace in the state. The Inspector-General of Police, the Director-General, State Security Service (SSS) must act now to arrest and prosecute Wike for threatening the peace and security of the State. His excesses must be curtailed, Rivers people have had enough of Wike’s shenanigans. “Since that young man (Wike) was appointed minister, he has carried on like a demi-god, acting like he is above the law, abusing, attacking and denigrating the people and governor of the state, the same governor that nominated him to be appointed minister. If Wike chooses to fight his benefactor, Governor Amaechi, that is entirely is headache.”