TROOPS from the Joint Task Force were deployed in Rivers State House of Assembly on Wednesday to prevent a bloody clash between supporters of Governor Rotimi Amaechi and those of the Minister of State for Education, Mr. Nyesom Wike, in Port Harcourt.Both groups, comprising mainly youths and those believed to be ex-militants, had gathered at the Assembly at about 7.30am to witness the sitting of the lawmakers and to know who would be recognised as the Speaker.
Policemen on the ground at Assembly watched as the youthS argued on the disagreement between the governor and Wike, but a team of JTF operatives, who came in four Hilux vehicles, dispersed them within 10 minutes.
The soldiers fired tear-gas canisters, forcing some of the protesting youths to relocate to the front of the Government House.
An ex-militant, who was among the youths was arrested by the riot policemen and taken to the Swift Operation Squad, ostensibly for interrogation. An identification card with an inscription ‘Amnesty’ was found in his pocket.
One of the pro-Wike youths, Kennedy Mbiere, who spoke with The PUNCH, said they were not happy with the way the state government disrupted the process of inuagurating Mr. Evans Bipi as the new speaker of the Assembly on Tuesday.
Mbiere said they were at the Assembly complex to show solidarity with Bipi, arguing that the governor should not have been there (Assembly) on Tuesday to prevent an elected Bipi from being inaugurated.
Also, a pro-Amaechi supporter, who identified himself as Tonye, lamented the interference of Abuja politicians in the affairs of the state.
“In a democracy, is it possible for five members to impeach the Speaker of a state House of Assembly with 32 members? We will not allow that. We are prepared to die than allow that to happen in Rivers State, ” Tonye said.
Police fire tear-gas canisters
Some of the youths numbering over 1, 000 had moved to the Government House from the Assembly at about 12.30pm to show solidarity with Amaechi but they were teargassed by policemen.
Some scampered for safety at nearby kiosks and houses while others ran into the Government House where they were later addressed by Deputy Governor, Mr. Tele Ikuru.
The State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, accused the police of firing teargas canisters into the Government House, describing the action as unfortunate.
Semenitari expressed surprise that teargas canisters could be fired into a Government House in a democracy, thereby disrupting business even in the Executive chambers.
Protest ban still in Place – CP
Earlier, the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Joseph Mbu, warned that the ban on any form of protests and processions was still in place.
Mbu, who spoke through the Police Public relations Officer of the State Police Command, Mrs. Angela Agabe, restated that the police would not tolerate a situation whereby any person would embark on a protest without seeking approval.
Meanwhile, the Assembly has described as false, the allegation that Mr. Otelemaba Amachree had been impeached as its Speaker.
A statement by 26 out of the 32 members of the Assembly on Wednesday read, “We state for the benefit of the public that no such situation existed on the floor of the Assembly on July 9 , 2013. These are mere machinations of the five members desperate to do their masters bidding.
“The purported claim by a member of the Assembly, Bipi, to be the new speaker of the state Assembly is false and a hallucinations of the most debased form. We urge members of the public and the press to disregard such claims.”
ACN calls for Jonathan’s impeachment
Meanwhile, the Action Congress of Nigeria has blamed President Goodluck Jonathan for the crisis in the state and called on the National Assembly to immediately commence impeachment proceedings against him.
The party, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, alleged that Jonathan had failed to live up to his oath of office to uphold the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The ACN said, “Under his watch, five lawmakers – out of 32 – have become the majority and, simply because they have the backing of the Presidency, are now being given police protection to disrupt the proceedings of the Assembly.
“As we write, Rivers State has been taken over by current and former militants, who have been unleashed to destabilise the state and cause a breakdown of law and order, to pave the way for the imposition of a state of emergency.
”This cannot and must not be allowed to continue, hence our call on the National Assembly to move quickly to remove the source of the crisis.”
The ACN stated that because of the potential to set the country on fire, it was calling on civil society groups, professional bodies and ordinary Nigerians to defend the rule of law and the supremacy of the constitution.
It recalled that under Jonathan’s watch and with his tacit support, a few lawmakers dictated to majority of the members of the Ogun State House of Assembly.
The party stated that under Jonathan’s watch, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum was sabotaged by his minions who declared a governor with 16 votes a winner over the one who scored 19 votes.
It said that the five lawmakers were emboldened to take extra-constitutional measures to try to remove the majority-backed speaker of the Assembly.
Count President out of Crisis- Gulak
However, the Presidency has enjoined opposition parties and others who believe that Jonathan was the unseen hand in the Rivers State brouhaha to discountenance such idea.
The Presidency gave the advice through two of Jonathan’s aides – Dr. Ahmed Gulak and Dr. Okupe – in separate interviews with our correspondents in Abuja.
Gulak, who is the President’s Special Adviser on Political Matters, said Amaechi should learn to face his problem and face the Assembly problem squarely without dragging the President into it.
Amaechi too small, says Okupe
On his part, Okupe, who is the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, said Jonathan could not have engineered the Rivers crisis because Amaechi was too small for him to fight.
He said, “The President has no hand in what is happening in the state. The President is not fighting Amaechi. He (the governor) is too small an entity for the President to fight.
“That (fight) has not happened; it cannot happen and it will not happen. What is going on in the state is the reaction of the people and maybe they are not happy because of his disposition to the President or the Presidency or his party (the Peoples Democratic Party).”
On ACN’s call for impeachment, Okupe described it as “another condemnable, extremist and fundamentally flawed position by the opposition party.”
Okupe added, “For the avoidance of doubt and at the risk of repetitiveness, we wish to state categorically that in spite of what the ACN will want the Nigerian people to believe, President Jonathan is absolutely unconnected and definitely not involved in the political crisis that seemed to have engulfed Rivers State in recent times.
“The President is not, has not and will never engineer any act that can cause disaffection between Governor Amaechi or any other governor and the state legislature or any other institution of government.”
Also, the leadership of the PDP condemned the ACN’s claim and asked lovers of democracy to discountenance it.
PDP Acting National Publicity Secretary, Tony Okeke, described the ACN statement as “malicious and the height of political irresponsibility”.
The ruling party accused the opposition of seeking to aggravate the situation in Rivers State for selfish reasons.
-naijalog
