•Says 27 House members have lost seats
•LG chairmen vow not to leave office after tenure

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned the call by the River State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on the state House of Assembly to impeach Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

The national leadership of the PDP, during a press briefing, presided over by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, yesterday, in Abuja, alleged that the 27 lawmakers, charged to carry out the impeachment, had already vacated their seats when they defected to the APC in December, 2023.

The main opposition party expressed shock that the APC called for Fubara’s impeachment despite the existing fear of chaos and breakdown of law and order in the state if the governor is removed unconstitutionally.

Ologunagba, at the press briefing tagged, ‘Perish The Thoughts Of Forceful Takeover Of Rivers State,’ the PDP said that its attention has been drawn to a delusional declaration by the Chairman of APC in Rivers State, Tony Okocha, wherein he issued a directive that an impeachment proceeding be commenced against the democratically elected Governor of Rivers State, Fubara.”

PDP said: “Such reckless and unwarranted statement by Okocha exposes the vile desperation of the APC, which is roundly rejected in Rivers State, to use violence, coercion and bullying to undermine the will of the people and forcefully take over the state.”

The PDP said that the call for the governor’s impeachment showed “the level of APC’s arrogance and condescension for the people of Rivers State, which further confirms APC’s desperation to forcefully annex their democratic rights under the Constitution.”

On the status of the 27 members of the state Assembly, who defected to the APC, Ologunagba said: “The individuals that Okocha directed to commence impeachment proceedings against Fubara are not legally members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, and cannot contemplate or exercise such powers under the law.

Ologunagba said: “These individuals, by virtue of Section 109 (1) (g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), have since vacated and lost their seats, rights, privileges, recognition and obligations accruable to members of the Rivers State House of Assembly after their defection from the PDP, which was the political party upon which they were elected into the state Assembly.”

Meanwhile, the political crisis in Rivers seems to be exacerbated as the incumbent chairmen of the 23 local councils of the state have vowed not to vacate office after expiration of their tenure on June 17, 2024.

The legal adviser to the state chapter of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) and Chairman of Andoni Local Council, Erastus Awortu, made the declaration, yesterday, while fielding questions from newsmen in Port Harcourt.

Awortu stated that the decision of the council to remain in office after June 17, 2024, was based on the recent decision of the state House of Assembly, backed by the amended local government law, to extend their tenure by six months.

He said: “Yes, we got elected in 2021; our tenure is to expire in June. By now, local council elections ought to have been conducted and concluded waiting to swear-in those that are victorious.”
However, the state Assembly has seen that no action has been taken in respect of conducting the local council election.

“In their wisdom, saying that there shouldn’t be any vacuum means that we must maintain a democratically elected system, as guaranteed in the law, in the Constitution and the local government law in Rivers State. They said that until elections are done, these local government chairmen should stay in office for another six months in the interim.”

Meanwhile, the chairmen accused the governor of withholding statutory allocation due the 23 councils of the state.