The Presidency stated Tuesday that President Bola Tinubu will neither stand with Minister of Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike or Governor Siminalayi Fubara in the ongoing political turmoil in Rivers State.
This occurred as the Rivers State government slammed the Abdulahi Ganduje-led All Progressives Congress, APC, for claiming that Governor Siminalayi Fubara had committed an impeachable offense.
The state Commissioner for Information and Communications, Joseph Johnson in Port Harcourt, said Ganduje has no legal ground to talk about the impeachment of Governor Fubara.
Also, Rivers State elders and leaders in Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and All Progressives Congress, APC, said to be loyal to Federal Capital Territory, FTC, Minister, Nyesom Wike, warned Governor Fubara not to tamper with structures at the House of Assembly quarters.
Meanwhile, court-suspended factional Speaker of Rivers State House of Assembly, Martins Amaewhule has insisted that the structures at the Assembly quarters were in excellent condition, fully functional and currently occupied by the lawmakers and their family members.
In another development, youths of Rivers State have urged President Bola Tinubu to take action and call his FTC Minister, Wike, to order over the continued political crisis in the state.
Tinubu won’t take sides between Wike, Fubara
Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to President Tinubu, Ajuri Ngelale, disclosed this during an interview on TVC.
Ngelale said anyone with the belief that President Tinubu would take their side in the political crisis would be disappointed. According to him, President Tinubu won’t allow any attempt to frustrate the Rivers government.
He said: “I believe that anyone who believes that by their actions, whether it’s from the federal level, state level or the legislative branch in the state or the executive branch in the state, if they are banking on Mr. President to take sides on this matter, they’re mistaking and they’ll be disappointed.
“Mr. President will not do that. What he will do is to ensure that everybody has what they need in order to work.
“He will also ensure that any attempt to frustrate the operation of the Rivers State government in conducting its affairs in a way that it would benefit the Rivers people, that’s obviously is not going to be allowed by this President or anybody else.
“So, I think there’s a need for all stakeholders to understand that Mr President won’t take sides.”
You lack moral standing to talk about impeachment, Rivers govt tells Ganduje-led APC
Johnson noted that Fubara has not committed any offence that would warrant his impeachment, adding that Ganduje still has legal issues to clear himself from.
He said: “Gaduje is under the loose of the law. He has not even been able to clear himself from the challenges of what his ward that suspended him and other issues against him pending before the court.
“Is it Ganduja that will tell me that Fubara, who has no offence, Fubara who is as clean as the cover of a book should be impeached? He was the governor of a state and the state faced some issues of integrity. I would have expected that he finishes issues around his integrity before he talks about Fubara.
“Fubara cannot be impeached by the devices of cronies. There is nothing serious about his speech because Fubara is standing on a clean slate. Governor Fubarar has not committed any offence. Fubara had sometime in October, 2023, ask ‘what is my offence’ and nobody has been able to tell us what Governor Fubara has done.
“I, therefore, condemn that statement and say that Ganduje should go and look for his political bearing back home. Ganduje is the chairman of APC on acting capacity and there are legal impediments. In law, there are pendency that are hanging on Ganduje which cannot allow him to stand on a good ground to talk.”
Don’t demolish Assembly quarters, pro-Wike elders, leaders warn Fubara
Meanwhile, Rivers State elders and leaders in PDP and APC have warned Fubara not to tamper with structures at the House of Assembly quarters.
The leaders comprising past and current members of the National Assembly, local government chairmen and opinion leaders, yesterday, stormed the Assembly quarters on Port Harcourt-Aba expressway in a surprised visit to assess the condition of the buildings.
Some of the leaders include Kingsly Chinda, lawmaker representing Obio/Akpor at the House Representatives; Emmanuel Deeyah, former lawmaker, who represented Gokana/Tai Federal Constituency; Sen. Olaka Nwogu, who represented Rivers South-East senetorial district; Chief Tony Okocha, Rivers APC caretaker Chairman; Igo Aguma, former lawmaker, represented Port Harcourt federal constituency and Desmond Akawor, former PDP chairman, Rivers State among others.
The visit followed the recent visit of Fubara to the facility and the fears that the government was on the move to commence renovation work on the facility which would impede the Amaewhule faction of the House of Assembly.
We’ve brought expert, nothing with buildings—Amaewhule
On arrival at the quarters, Amaewhule had informed the leaders that there was a concluded plot by the governor to bring down the structures, the same way he demolished the House of Assembly complex.
Amaewhule said the structures were in excellent condition, fully functional and were currently occupied by the lawmakers and their family members.
He said: “This facility is the facility of the Rivers State House of Assembly. We have also brought in experts, engineers and there is nothing wrong with these structures. They are fully in use and fully functional. All the experts confirmed to us that this building is one of the best in the entire West Africa.
“This complex was constructed by the former Governor Wike and inaugurated in August 2022 by the current Chief of Staff to Mr. President, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila. We are happy with the buildings and everything is working well.”
NASS observing devt in Rivers, may take decision soon —Chinda
However, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Kingsley Chinda, in his address said the leaders and elders were worried over reports of a planned demolition of democratic institution and decided to visit to assess the condition of the premises.
Chinda said: “As members of the National Assembly from Rivers State, we have joined the leaders and elders of the state to discuss the issues happening in our state, the latest being the threat to bring down the structures in this premises.
“We have commissioned engineers and experts to study and give us the report of the integrity of these structures. We have received the report. And the report says these structures have a lifespan of nothing less than 25 years.
“We have on our own come out to physically inspect the structures to crosscheck it with the report we received and these structures are still strong and healthy. Our apartments in the National Assembly are not better than what we have seen here.
“We want to advise the governor to bridle a little bit at exuberance that we had seen within this period. It doesn’t portend well to our state.
“We members of the National Assembly have not spoken. We have observed. But we cannot continue to fold our hands and watch our state fly. We are coming out and we will take position without looking at anybody.
Also, former Speaker of the Rivers House of Assembly, Ikuinyi Ibani, said assessments had revealed that there was nothing wrong with the structures, calling on the governor to jettison any plan to tamper with quarters.
Meanwhile, the Rivers Caretaker Committee Chairman of the APC, Chief Okocha, has hailed the leaders and elders across party lines for moving to defend democracy, insisting that the 27 lawmakers remained members of the APC and that the party would continue to protect them.
He said: “This goes to show the world that Rivers people are united. We are one. The speaker had taken us round the premises and given us the synopsis of what transpired when the governor in a Gestapo manner cane with thugs to harass the inhabitants here.”
Call Wike to order now to end political war in Rivers, youths tell Tinubu
Meanwhile, Rivers youths have also called on the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, to maintain neutrality in the face of the political disagreement in the state and task police operatives in the state to remain apolitical in their operations.
The youths, who came together on the platform of Sim Media Volunteers, SMV, in Port Harcourt, further commended the President for the efforts he has made to restore total peace in the state and his renewed hope agender aimed at bettering the lives of Nigerians.
Convener of SMV, Frank Kilsi, said: “We further seize this opportunity to commend President Bola Tinubu for his painstaking efforts at actualising the renewed hope agenda for the nation.
“As the father of our dear country, we call on Mr President to use his exalted office to caution the FCT Minister, and his co-travellers, who have declared total war on Rivers State, as seen by their daily actions against Rivers people and victimization of innocent citizens of Rivers State, both at home and beyond.”
Results of integrity test’ll determine fate of Assembly quarters —Rivers govt
Meanwhile, Rivers State government, yesterday, said it had consulted experts, who were currently carrying out integrity test on the buildings of the state House of Assembly quarters.
State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Joseph Johnson, who spoke while reacting to claims that Governor Fubara plans to demolish the Assembly quarters, said the governor visited the facility and commissioned experts to conduct the test, adding that the result of study by the selected experts would determine the fate of the structures.
He said: “Governor Fubara is an honest person. The best that any state can pray for and God bestowed him on us. There is not other way to get a good leader other than a leader who will say right is right and left is left.
“We went to the Assembly quarters to assess the integrity of the facility under the care of the government. We have not found any section of the constitution that says the governor does not have the right to asses the facility.
“Governor Fubara is not interest in anybody’s position. He is already a governor. The governor as part of his function has gone to the Assembly quarters, particularly on a report of an environmental impact assessment. In passing, the governor visited the assembly quarters.”
“That facility was built by the immediate past administration. When Wike built the NLC secretariat, he said tthat Secretariat did not meet integrity test. Dr. George Kelly, then Commissioner for Works, confirmed that under one year. They threw Beatrice Itubo out of that place.
“You can born a child today, the child might die today. You can born a child today the child might stay the next 100 years. In this case, the governor has only visited the quarters and commissioned experts to carry out integrity text on the building.
“What will happen next will depend on report of the facility tour. The governor will look at the reports. If it pleases God that that place does not meet up the required standard, why not.”