The
Progressive Governors Forum has accused President Goodluck Jonathan
of using his powers to bully Rivers State Governor, Mr. Rotimi
Amaechi. The governors stated this on Friday while reacting to the
action of the armed policemen that blocked one of the gates leading to
the Rivers State Government House on Thursday.
The governors in a statement titled,
“Blockade to Rivers Government House: Assault on Constitution and
Descent to Anarchy”, said the incident was a direct affront on
constitutional order. They said, “A situation whereby the Federal
Government will use powers vested in it under the constitution to
bully and intimidate state governments is unacceptable and should be
resisted by every democratic government.
“We wish to unequivocally state our
resolve to work with all democrats in the country to ensure adequate
protection of democratic governance.’’
The statement was signed by Borno
State Governor, Kashim Shetima; Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole;
Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi; Imo State Governor, Rochas
Okorocha; Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola; Nasarawa State
Governor, Tanko Almakura; Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun; Osun
State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola; Oyo State Governor, Abiola
Ajimobi; Yobe State Governor, Ibrahim
Geldam; and Zamfara State Governor, Abdulaziz Abubakar Yari. The
governors’ statement came just as some Nigerians condemned the action
of the police authorities in Rivers and the police insisted that they
did not bar the governor from accessing Government House.
The governors said they received the
news of the blockade with shock and disbelief, adding that crisis in
Rivers since July 2013 constituted a major threat to the nation’s
democracy.
They added that the situation in Rivers
State was unfortunate and that all Nigerians must call on the Federal
Government and all its agencies, including all arms of the security
services, to respect the letter and spirit of the 1999 Nigerian
Constitution.
They said, “In the specific case of
Rivers State, provisions of Section 215(4) of the 1999 Constitution
must be fully respected. This section provides that the Governor “may
give to the Commissioner of Police of that state such lawful
directions with respect to the maintenance and security of public
safety and public order within the state as he may consider necessary,
and the Commissioner of Police shall comply with those directions or
cause them to be complied with.’’
The governors noted that the
inability of the federal Authorities to exercise all the necessary
constitutional and moral authority to ensure the speedy resolution of
the crisis had remained a source of danger for the nation’s
democracy , the life of Amaechi and those of other public officers
serving in the state.
The governors said the police action
was a bad precedent and wondered if it was a signal that a similar
blockade could be mounted against the President at the Presidential
Villa. The police had on Thursday stopped Amaechi from using the gate to
gain entrance into the Government House. The governor was in company
with 102 former speakers of state Houses of Assembly when a team of
policemen allegedly drafted by the State Police Commissioner, Mr.
Joseph Mbu, blocked the Forces Avenue which leads to the governor’s
house in the Government House.
The ex-Speakers were in the state
capital for a meeting and had gone on an inspection tour after paying a
courtesy visit to the governor. Reacting, the New Peoples Democratic
Party said what happened in Rivers State was a sign that the country
was returning to the dark days of the former Head of State, Gen. Sani
Abacha.
A statement signed by the National
Publicity Secretary of the faction, Chief Chukwuemeka Eze, in Abuja on
Friday, said many events in the country had shown that democracy was
not being allowed to thrive.
“Indeed, General Sani Abacha must be
lamenting in his grave that Nigerians wrongly abused him considering
the high degree of impunities being encouraged in a democratic set up,
with the Police being used as a tool to haunt political opponents,”
the faction said.
We didn’t block Amaechi – Police
However, the Rivers State Police Command on Thursday denied blocking Governor Amaechi,
from gaining access into the
Government House. The command in a statement signed by its Public
Relations Officer, Mrs. Angela Agabe, described media reports on the
matter as “incorrect, false, fictitious and wrong in its entirety”.
The statement reads, “The attention of
the police command has been drawn to stories making the round in the
media that the police blocked the road to the Rivers State Government
House in Port Harcourt, denying His Excellency, Governor Chibuike
Amaechi ,access to the Government House.
The police state categorically that
they did not block the road leading to the Government House, neither
did they deny Governor Rotimi Amaechi access to the Government House
in Port Harcourt or elsewhere.
“The story is incorrect, false,
fictitious and wrong in its entirety and it is calculated to mislead
the people of Rivers State, Nigerians and the general public. The
Nigeria Police Force deems it necessary to place in proper perspective
the event that gave rise to the wrong information being peddled in
the media.’’
Amaechi lied – PDP
Also on Friday, the leadership of the
PDP denied the blockade, saying that the governor misled Nigerians. A
statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary of the party,
Chief Olisa Metuh, alleged that the governor created an impression
that he was barred by the police and the Federal Government from
entering the Government House.
“This distortion of facts is totally
unacceptable and unbefitting of a state governor,” Metu said, adding
that Amaechi was aware that based on the ruling of the courts, the
police had sealed off a secretariat illegally opened by some
individuals under the name, flag and colour of the PDP.
We have no democracy again – Amaechi
Also on Friday, Amaechi reminisced on
the incident which he described as the height of lawlessness and
impunity. Amaechi, at an event for the former speakers in Port
Harcourt, explained that Nigerians were now in a dispensation where the
law was no longer supreme and urged the people to resist impunity.
He said, “All of you saw how the former
Speakers came down from the vehicle to tell them (police) where we
were coming from, but the Police resisted. “It is for Nigerians to
see that we no longer have democracy in this country. We are now in a
regime where the law is no longer supreme. We must rise up against
this impunity against our democracy.”
“The National Assembly and the
various state houses of assembly should address the retirement and
welfare of the ex-lawmakers, it is very important,” Amaechi said.
The Chairman of the former Speakers’
Forum and ex-Speaker of the Plateau State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon.
Simon Lalong, described the police behaviour as the highest level of
impunity in the country. He also urged the National Assembly to call
for the resignation of the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Mohammed
Abubakar.
Lalong, who spoke on behalf of the
ex-speakers, said that if the police could act so unfairly where a
governor was concerned, ordinary Nigerians were not safe.
He said, “I don’t think it is really
police overzealousness, but the police are controlled by higher
authorities. So, if that is what is happening, I think people should
collectively call for the resignation of the Inspector-General of
Police.
“Very soon, maybe they will start
arresting people in their houses. I wonder what is really happening. I
think the President must intervene in this issue.”
Also, a former Speaker of the Lagos
State House of Assembly, Senator Olorunimbe Mamora, expressed sadness at
the action of the police.
Mamora said, “I think, to say the least,
that (roadblock) was quite unfortunate because we were coming from an
inspection of projects. More than 70 former speakers were in the
governor’s (Amaechi) entourage to inspect projects and on our way back
to the Government House, we discovered that we just couldn’t pass
because the road had been blocked.”
Peterside, Sagay, Okey, others react In
Abuja, a member of the House of Representatives, who is also the
Chairman, House Committee on Downstream, Mr. Dakuku Peterside,
described the police action as the height of dictatorship in the
country.
Peterside, who is from Rivers State, spoke via a statement issued by his media aide, Mr. Sylvester Asoya.
He said, “A situation whereby the
Commissioner of Police, Mr. Joseph Mbu led police in the State, an
agency funded with tax payers money, to block the elected state
governor from having access to Government House, showed that Nigeria
was on a free fall to maximum dictatorship.”
Peterside further lamented that “the
insult on the Government of Rivers State is an affront to all elected
political office holders in Nigeria that requires definite
condemnation by all lovers of freedom and democracy.”
A former chairman of the Action Congress
of Nigeria in Oyo State, who is now a leading figure in the newly
registered All Progressives Alliance, Mr. Akin Oke, said the action
of the police in Rivers State was a threat to democracy, calling on
President Goodluck Jonathan to caution Mbu, for disrespecting social
equality.
Similarly, a respected lawyer, Prof.
Itse Sagay (SAN), and the National Vice President, Committee for the
Defense of Human Rights, Mr. Taiwo Otitolaye, said the police action
was a threat to democracy.
In separate telephone interviews with
our correspondent in Ilorin on Friday, they advised against acts that
could jeopardize the nation’s democracy.
While Sagay said the blockage was an
abuse of power and a violation of Nigeria’s constitution, Otitolaye
said it was an act of brigandage.
“It is undemocratic. We condemn it in
strong terms. It is worrisome to us now that we are not in a military
dictatorship. We do not want to revert to that era of military
dictatorship. We ask that the presidency should not use the police or
other security apparatus for any undemocratic adventure. He should
desist henceforth from such,” Otitolaye said.
Sagay described the police action as a
breach of the rule of law, a breach of the right of the freedom of
the movement of the governor; a breach of Amaechi’s right to go to
his office and an inhumane act. He said, “It is a breach of
everything. It should not be seen to happen in a civilized society or a
democratic society.”
Oke said, “The event of Thursday in Port
Harcourt is worrisome and disturbing, particularly at this point when
we are thinking that democracy has come to stay. For democracy to
thrive in Nigeria, there must be tolerance. When you now view it from
the point that there is no tolerance within the party (PDP), how do we
grow our democracy?”
