Rivers Crisis: Dissecting the dimensions and masterstrokes of gladiators

The key actors in the festering political crisis in Rivers State have been on top of their games in their bids to outwit each other. In this report, OBINNA NWAOKU chronicles the masterstrokes they deployed in recent days to reinforce their positions.  

The political squabble that has rocked Rivers State since October 30, 2023, seems to be taking a messier dimension. The obvious power game between the executive and legislative arms of the state government has become more intense lately.

Observers see this new dimension as a culmination of the lingering crisis between both parties, who subtly, like in a game of chess, plot their pawns while holding their next move to their chest tightly. The recent moves and utterances have shown a visible breakdown of the December 18, 2023, Presidential Peace Pact entered by the state Governor, Siminialayi Fubara, and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, as both camps appear to be gearing up for a showdown.

Drawing the first blood were the Assembly members loyal to Wike, who during their 173rd Legislative Sitting on May 6, this year, overrode the governor’s assent by passing into law the Public Procurement Bill, which streamlines mobilisation fee for every project to 20 per cent.

The Speaker, Martin Amaewhule, had stressed that if the governor continues to spend taxpayers’ money without complying with the Appropriation Act, the House would at the appropriate time take more stringent measures.

He added that the House could not stand aloof and watch the governor continue to breach the laws of the state in a tyrannical manner.

Probably irked by the stance of the lawmakers, Fubara wasted no time in declaring that they (the 27 Pro wike lawmakers) do not exist anymore as lawmakers in the eyes of the law.

The governor seized the opportunity of the visit of the Bayelsa State delegation of political and traditional leaders, led by former governor of the State, Senator Henry Seriake Dickson, to the Government House in Port Harcourt to take a swipe at the Speaker and the lawmakers in his camp.

His words: “Let me say it here; those groups of men who claim that they are Assembly members do not exist. I want it to be on record.

“I accepted that peace accord to give them a floating (soft-landing). That’s the truth. There is nothing in that peace accord that is a constitutional issue. It is a political solution to a problem. I accepted it because there were people that were visiting me and we were together in my house.

“These are people that I have helped in many ways when I wasn’t even a governor… Yes, we might have our disagreements, but I believe that one day, we could also come together. That was the reason I did it.”

Fubara maintained that he had acted like the big brother in the crisis, saying he had shown respect and subjected himself to every meeting of reconciliation for peace.

He, however, noted that each time he came out from such meetings; he was faced with a series of attacks from the other camp.

Following the governor’s outburst over his stance on the 27 lawmakers who on December 11, 2023, defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Caretaker Committee Chairman of APC in Rivers State, Tony Okocha, called on the lawmakers to immediately initiate impeachment proceedings against the governor. The call by Okocha for the governor’s impeachment sparked reactions from different quarters, setting the tone for more political maneuverings that have made residents of the state to be apprehensive about what could play out in the coming days.

The call for Fubara’s impeachment was vehemently condemned by the national leadership of the PDP, just as the Commissioner for Information, Joseph Johnson, and the Chairman of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), Chijioke Ihunwo, vowed to resist such a move.

However, the state of affairs in the state, according to some public affairs analysts, is now tilting to a direction where the governor is backing his words with actions judging by his claim that the pro-Wike lawmakers are non-existent by law. This, analysts say, would create a leeway for the eventual screening of some of his appointees by lawmakers in his camp; just like he did with the 2024 the Appropriation Bill.

The political battle has also rubbed off on the third tier of government, with some local council chairmen in the state vowing not to leave office at the expiration of their tenure in June.

The chairmen, at a media briefing, alleged they had not received their statutory allocation for the month of April, saying Emohua Local Council did not receive for the month of March and April.

Accusing the governor of dipping his hand into the coffers of the local councils to pay workers without consulting them, they threatened that things might take a turn for the worse if he does not do the needful by calling for the Joint Account Committee meeting.

Wading in, the Amaewhule-led Assembly, which frowned at the ‘imposition’ of an Acting Chairman of Local Government Commission Board, invited the secretary of the board to appear before the House and provide answers to why the workers of Emohua Local Council were being owed for two months.  But in a memo on May 7 attributed to the Director of Information and Communications, LGSC, the Chairman,  Ebirieneuket Nteile, warned all heads of administration against appearing  before members of the Assembly. He warned that any staff that disobeys or violates the instruction would be dismissed from service.

Meanwhile, there was a twist as three lawmakers loyal to Fubara sat on May 8 and elected Victor Oko-Jumbo as the new Speaker while Sokari Goodboy Sokari emerged as the Majority Leader.

Oko-Jumbo, member representing Bonny State Constituency, was elected to take over from Edison Ehie, who resigned his membership of the House to become the Chief of Staff to the governor.

The faction sparked off more controversy when they argued that the House had its last sitting on December 13, 2023, and adjourned sine die, adding that following the resignation of the former Speaker, it became necessary for the House to reconvene and select its leadership.

Oke Jumbo noted the 27 members, fully aware of the provisions of Section 109(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution, defected from the PDP to the APC on December 11, 2023.

But in a disclaimer on May 8, the Clerk of the Assembly, Emeka Amadi, insisted that there was no change in the leadership of the Assembly and that the three lawmakers who did not defect were suspended on October 30, 2023.

Meanwhile, there was panic in the state over what might have become an open confrontation but was somehow averted on May 9 following the unscheduled visit by the governor to the residential quarters of the Assembly members while heading to Emohua to inspect a road project billed for commissioning later this month.

The governor, who some members of Assembly accused of forcing his way into the property, took some time to walk through the premises and inspect it before leaving for Emohua.

Addressing journalists, Fubara explained that his visit to the residential quarters of the State House of Assembly was to undertake an on-the-spot assessment of the condition of the structures for possible rehabilitation work to restore its status and make it livable.

He said: “Is the Assembly quarters not part of my property? Is there anything wrong in going to check how things are going on there?

“You are aware of the developments. We have a new speaker, and I went there to see for myself how things are. There might be a few things I might want to do there for the good of our people.”

Although some pundits say the visit has no constitutional implication, as the governor has the right to visit the property and can decide to renovate it, others are of the view that the visit was in response to a false alarm about the Amaewhule-led legislature holding its sitting there to begin the impeachment process.

The visit was condemned by the pro-Wike lawmakers, who described it as a proof of the governor’s “overbearing meddlesomeness.”

Addressing journalists a few hours after the governor left the quarters, Amaewhule raised the alarm about what he described as the latest plot to demolish the recently built Rivers State House of Assembly quarters located along Aba Road, Port Harcourt.

According to him, his colleagues were stunned when the governor stormed the quarters in an attempt to demolish it. He expressed disappointment with the governor’s undue interference in the affairs of the House, stating that the Rivers State House of Assembly quarters were built for members of the House of Assembly not for the executive arm. He said that Fubara’s actions were unbecoming of a sitting governor who is supposed to uphold the sanctity of the law.

“We are ashamed to have a governor who has no respect for our constitution, laws and democracy. Indeed, our governor is an assault on our democracy,” Amaewhule said.

Consequently, the intricacies of the squabble are gradually twisting to form a tight knot, which the interventions of concerned stakeholders and elder statesmen might not be able to untie.

A political analyst, Chile Amadi, noted that from the body language of the lawmakers, processes for governor’s impeachment for the second time was imminent, adding that it may further rock the fabrics of the state and a political solution would have minimal effect.

He urged the judiciary to up its ante and save the state from the political turmoil by delivering a ruling on the subsisting matter on the legality of the lawmakers who defected to the APC from PDP.