The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Rivers crisis

  • Police probe of Rivers crisis one-sided, says ACN

    Police probe of Rivers crisis one-sided, says ACN

    The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) yesterday accused the police of being “one-sided” in its investigation into the Rivers State crisis.

    The party urged the police to widen its investigation so as to make its outcome acceptable to Nigerians.

    In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the fact that only the security aides of Governor Chibuike Amaechi have been invited to Abuja for questioning by the police, and also the fact that only the majority leader of the State House of Assembly, Chidi Lloyd, has been declared wanted, have provided an insight into the thinking of the police on the issue.

    It wondered why Rivers Police Commissioner Mbu Joseph Mbu, who provided cover for the five renegade lawmakers to attack the House while failing to provide security for the House to sit, and the leader of the renegade lawmakers Evans Bipi, who allegedly started the crisis in the House by punching Lloyd and the

    Speaker of the House on the face, were not invited along with the others.

    ‘’As the saying goes, it takes two to tango. Definitely there are two sides to every issue, including the crisis that rocked the House of Assembly last week. It therefore amounts to a warped investigation to focus only on one side, as the police appear to be doing. This kind of investigation can only lead to jungle justice, and further erode the credibility of the police, who have now descended into the arena instead of staying above the fray.

    ‘’This is why we warned, in our earlier statement, that the police should go beyond addressing the symptoms in its efforts to unravel the role played by the security agency in the festering crisis. We hate to say that the action of the police hierarchy has vindicated us,’’ ACN said.

    The party said the fact that the police hierarchy appears to be shielding the glaringly-partisan Police Commissioner in Rivers (despite the shabby treatment he has meted out to the state’s chief executive) and the five renegade members has made it hard for Nigerians to believe in the neutrality of the police in this matter.

    ‘’Equally worrisome is the unilateral deployment of new security aides to the Rivers Government House without the usual practice of giving the Governor a say in who his security aides are. It is therefore not surprising that the Governor

    has raised the alarm about his personal security. After all, he does not know what instructions these new aides have, especially since the untouchable Commissioner of Police remains in the saddle!’’ it said.

    Meanwhile, the ACN has said the root cause of the Rivers crisis appears to have come to the fore, going by the statement credited to the First Lady on Wednesday, that it started four years ago when Gov. Amaechi apparently defied Her Excellency’s appeal not to demolish a part of Okrika.

    ‘’This revelation is a mortal blow to all those who have been struggling to distance the President and the First Lady from the Rivers crisis. It also shows that, contrary to the cynical statements blaming the crisis on some external forces and those who are supposedly crying more than the bereaved, the cause is right there in the President’s bedroom, and that’s why the solution should come from,’’ the party said.

  • Amaechi, Wike’s supporters clash in Port Harcourt

    Amaechi, Wike’s supporters clash in Port Harcourt

    … Hurl missiles, visiting Northern governors unperturbed

    The supporters of the Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, and the Minister of State for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike, clashed on Tuesday at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, with missiles hurled at one another, while the visiting Northern governors were unperturbed.

    The Governors of Kano State, Alhaji Rabiu Kwakwanso; Niger State, Alhaji Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu; Jigawa State, Sule Lamido; and Adamawa State, Murtala Nyako;, flew into Port Harcourt on Tuesday morning to show solidarity to the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF).

    Over 5,000 supporters of Wike, under the aegis of the Grassroots Development Initiative (GDI), moved to the airport as early as 7 am, to express displeasure on the visit by the northern governors and were confronted by Amaechi’s supporters at the parking lot of the airport, with missiles flying and people scampering to safety.

    A prominent Nigerian, who witnessed the incident at the airport, but would not want his name in print, said the clash was uncalled for, stressing that it heightened tension in the area, leading to confusion and passengers had to either hide or run for their lives, to avoid sustaining injuries.

    Men of the Rivers State Police Command and operatives of the State Security Service (SSS) were on hand to prevent the breakdown of law and order.

    The Secretary-General of the GDI, Samuel Nwanosike, who is also the Rivers Publicity Secretary of the PDP, in a telephone interview, said it was a “peaceful” protest, with Wike supporters “singing and dancing,” to show that they were not happy with the visit of the governors from the North.

    As at press time, the four governors were still meeting with their host (Amaechi) at the Government House, Port Harcourt, with reporters patiently waiting for the outcome.

     

  • Count Jonathan out of Rivers crisis – Okupe

    Count Jonathan out of Rivers crisis – Okupe

    The Presidency has washed its hands off the induced political crisis in Rivers State, saying President Goodluck Jonathan had nothing to do with the crisis.

    There was near breakdown of law and order in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital on Tuesday, when five members of the state Assembly attempted to impeach the Speaker through the back door.

    Although resistance put up by majority of the lawmakers loyal to the Governor was enough to thwart the move by the five lawmakers, the encounter resulted in a few bloody noses and broken limbs among the pro -Rotimi Amaechi lawmakers.

    The crisis is widely believed to have been induced by the Presidency, where the President has engaged Governor Amaechi in a running battle over the latter’s perceived interest in the 2015 presidential race.

    But in a swift reaction, the Senior Special Adviser to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, dissociated President Jonathan from the Rivers imbroglio.

    Okupe, who addressed reporters in Abuja on Wednesday, said Ameachi was too small an entity for the President to fight, adding that the crisis should be situated within the local politics of Rivers State.