On that fateful day when First Lady Patience Jonathan snatched a
microphone from Gov Rotimi Amaechi at a function and in the public
glare, thoroughly rebuked him for undermining her Okirika people, it
didn’t occur to her that she might have murdered sleep by attacking an
elected governor.
But observers are quick to also trace the crisis to a number of other issues such as ethnicity rivalry between Ikwere and Okirika ethnic nationalities in Rivers State, envy, political high handedness, naked ambition, undue police interference and unhealthy rivalry between former associates and the race for 2015.
But observers are quick to also trace the crisis to a number of other issues such as ethnicity rivalry between Ikwere and Okirika ethnic nationalities in Rivers State, envy, political high handedness, naked ambition, undue police interference and unhealthy rivalry between former associates and the race for 2015.
Rivalry between the Okirika and Ikwere ethnic group
Just as it exists in every facet of Nigerian politics, ethnicity usually
plays a critical role and in the case of Rivers State, which has
several tongues and tribes, tribal factor usually plays the critical
roles in the political calculations of the state.
In Rivers State, there is deeply rooted, unhealthy rivalry between the Ikwerre and Okrika people and this has largely contributed to Nigeria’s First Lady’s local and national affront against the Rivers State governor, who is an Ikwerre.
It is believed that Dame Jonathan is at the background of most of the offensives against Amaechi. The conflict between the two first reared its head in 2010, at a reception organised for the First Lady by her Okrika community and the Rivers State government.
At the ill-fated event, Governor Amaechi, while trying to impress on the First Lady the achievements and projections of the state government in the area of infrastructural development, was said to have told her the plans of the state government to demolish some buildings in the area, to pave way for new developments around the area.
Even as the plans did not go down well with the First Lady, she was said to have been less impressed with the language and presentation of the plans by the governor. She was said to have been miffed by what she described as the arrogant nature of the presentation by the state’s Chief Executive.
This resulted in a minor scuffle, at the event as Dame Jonathan, who is noted to be passionate about her people and constituency was said to have wrestled the microphone from the governor and went ahead to publicly scolded the governor. “You are saying, we will pull down, we will pull down. Stop acting God with the lives of less fortunate others,” she yelled at the governor.
Intrigues of Amaechi’s NGF chairmanship
Amaechi succeeded former Kwara State governor, Bukola Saraki as the chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, NGF, in 2011 for a two year tenure but on the expiration of his tenure in 2013, the governor sought for re-election against the advice of both his party and the presidency.
His refusal to yield to reasons adduced by these superior organs led to the victimisation that he was to receive. NGF believed to be politically potent in the decision as to who emerges as the president of the federation, if left in the hands of an independent and ‘recalcitrant’ Amaechi could spell doom for the ruling party and so, efforts to wrestle such power from him ensued.
First, Rivers State was divested of her oil well resulting to revenue shrunk. The aircraft belonging to the state government was impounded in a not too civil manner and top officials of the government severally harassed by the anti- corruption agencies of the government.
In one of his very numerous interviews, Amaechi, voicing out his frustration, said that his government was a major target by Jonathan’s government and even dared the President to mention anything that the state which voted for him massively in the 2011 election has done to him to warrant such ostracisation.
The defiant Amaechi had gone ahead to contest the NGF election where 19 voted in his favour while 16 voted for his rival, the Plateau State governor, Jonah Jang, in an election declared inconclusive. NGF has since been factionalized into two camps: Pro-Amaechi and pro-Jang. The impact of the struggle has seen five PDP governors defect to the APC with their supporters.
The ripple effect has also seen the PDP losing majority in the lower chamber of the National Assembly, the House of Representatives. The relationship between the governor and the occupants of the Aso Villa turned to the worse, as the President and the governor has up till then had a sort of indifferent relationship.
A divided house
The political scenario in the state has since being polarised as the crisis had crystallised into an open full-blown conflict after an Abuja High Court removed the Amaechi-backed state executive committee and installed Chief Felix Obuah instead. The implication of the court verdict is the removal of the rugs off the feet of the state governor as he no longer has control of the party in the state as the new party executive is loyal to the Supervisory Minister of Education, Nyesom Wike.
On takeoff, the Obuah-led exco announced that it will reconcile aggrieved members of the party, but from its inception, it has been involved in one conflict after the other with the state government and those associated with it, with its short existence largely characterised with all sorts of suspensions, expulsions.
The relationship between the governor and his erstwhile Chief of Staff, CoS, now Supervising Minister of Education, Wike has turned sour over the years.
Wike was at the forefront of Amaechi’s fight to claim his mandate for governorship in 2007 and on becoming governor of the state; Amaechi made him one of the greatest beneficiaries of his first tenure in office, as he made him the CoS, with sweeping powers and influence. Some people in the state referred to him as the “de-facto governor,” while he was in Amaechi’s cabinet.
Things went sour between the two associates when a governorship/ senatorial ambition drove a wedge between the two. There have been conflicting stories about betrayal between the two.
Wike however, moved on and was able to warm his way into the heart of the Presidency and he is alleged to be doing the Presidency’s hatchet job on his former boss. Amaechi, on his own part, has exhibited some executive high handedness when he, in spite of a court judgment suspended the duly elected chairman of Obio/Akpor Local Government, Hon Timothy Paul Nsirim, with the aid of the loyal Rivers State House of Assembly without regard to the rule of law as the matter was never debated by the entire Assembly. The allegation of reckless spending of public funds without due process and security breach levelled against the chairman who happens to be loyal to Wike and councilors of Obio/Akpor LGA was never substantiated
Odili and his yesterday men
Another factor, which was responsible for the crisis was linked with some politicians in the state, who were associates of former Governor Peter Odili, most of whom have now found themselves out of government. These politicians are said not to be comfortable with the fierce buccaneering nature of the young governor. “Amaechi’s swash-buckling did not go down well with them. They want control of the party structure and purse strings, but they are not even close to it with Amaechi,” an informed political watcher in the state explained.
The governor refers to these set of politicians as those who are only interested in their “stomach infrastructures.” He vowed never to relinquish the state’s treasury to them and he has vigorously resisted various attempts to involve these individuals in state matters. On the assumption of Amechi as the governor, political bigwigs such as the former Deputy Speakers of the House of Representatives, Chief Austin Okpara and Chibudom Nwuche, former Governor Celestine Omehia, Senator Lee Meeba, current Deputy National Chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, old war horse Sergent Awuse amongst others have found themselves in the retirement market so soon.
Having been frozen out of the political market for such a long time appear to put their weights behind Wike, the arrow head to seize power, an action that Amaechi is vehemently resisting.
The role of the police
The police, in the state have variously been alleged to be part of the factors igniting the flame of the crisis in the state and the attitude and operations of the security men under the leadership of much-vilified state Police Commissioner, Joseph Mbu, has not done much to disabuse people’s mind about these allegations. Mbu, is mostly regarded as and to some extent, clearly anti-Amaechi.
It is rumoured that the main reason for Mbu’s posting to Rivers State was to involve him in Aso Rock’s battle against the state governor. However, unfortunately, Mbu’s conducts and his mode of operation has been characterised largely by unpopular decisions, including the arrests of traditional rulers, youths, community leaders and politicians, perceived to be loyal to the state governor.
A worrisome development in the crisis surfaced when large scale violence was introduced to the conflict which has now gain the attention of the local and international communities, especially the two chambers of the National Assembly.
The opposing camps characteristically have started singing war songs and constantly hauled abusive and degrading languages at each other. However, it turned into a full blown crisis recently when the state House of Assembly was turned into a battle ground by the two opposing camps. Five lawmakers loyal to Wike, led by Hon. Evans Bipi tried to impeach the House leadership including the Speaker of the House, Amachree Otelemaba.
This has resulted in a rowdy session, with the resultant fracas leading to the hospitalisation of both the Majority Leader of the House, Hon. Chidi LIoyd and a pro-Wike lawmaker, Michael Chinda.
Under Commissioner Mbu’s watch, a few instances of the brazen lawlessness and violations of the Constitution were allegedly carried such as the forceful dispersal of 13,201 newly recruited teachers in the Port Harcourt Stadium using tear gas; blockading the entrance to the Government House in Port Harcourt and forcing the Amaechi to use another entrance; preventing an aircraft chartered by the state governor from taking off, alleging that the governor was trying to smuggle out a legislator wanted by the Police, the several disruptions of the Save Rivers Group rallies, and the unlawful detention of anybody perceived to be a sympathiser of Governor Amaechi, while allowing pro-Jonathan an anti-Amaechi groups to organise rallies unmolested, with full police protection, amongst others.
Calls have been made for the sack or redeployment of Mbu but neither the force nor the Presidency will hear of that. Mbu has done his job as a fine officer who is apolitical. But most Nigerians believe that there is much to the police commissioner’s bravado.
Amaechi’s defection and attendant harassment
After the state governor, had predictably defected to the opposition party, All Progressives Party, APC, together with his supporters in December 2013, there have been wide spread attacks against him and his supporters. Amaechis’s associates have variously accused the state Police Commissioner of favouritism.
They alleged that whereas pro-Wike’s group, the Grassroot Development Initiave, GDI, has been organising campaign rallies where the group and its sponsors have campaigned for the President unmolested, even though it is against the electoral laws, members of the opposition have been denied of same privilege by the police.
On January 11, this year, the Police appeared to have showed its own agenda in the crisis when its men allegedly shot Senator Magnus Abe at the Rivers State College of Arts and Science, venue of a proposed rally organised by RSM, a group believed be loyal to Amaechi, few hours before the event.
The Rivers State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Ahmad Muhammad, blamed the incident on the political group for not applying for permit to hold the Sunday rally.
He added that the crowd has to be dispersed for this reason. But the Chairman of the Save Rivers Movement, Aholu Okechukwu, made available to journalists copies of the application for permit to hold the rally written to the state Police on January 7. Reactions have been more favourable to the pro-Amaechi camp as against the police actions, in spite of the fact that the police have maintained that it will be failing in its duty if it stands and watch the peace of Rivers State being trampled upon.
APC on the offensive
The APC, Governor Amaechi’s new party last week came in defence of one of its own with a directives to its members in the National Assembly to block all legislative proposals which include the 2014 Budget as well as the confirmation of all nominees to military and civilian positions to public office until the rule of law and constitutionalism is restored in Rivers State.
APC’s National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, said that the party has resolved that if President Jonathan fails to halt the intimidation of Amaechi and offer apologies, it would call all its members to take whatever steps that are necessary to protect their lives and property.
He said: “Any cursory observer of events in Rivers State since February, 2013 will be left in no doubt as to the culture of lawlessness and impunity being promoted and supported by the Presidency, and executed by the state Commissioner of Police, Joseph Mbu, who has become the de-facto military governor of Rivers State and sole administrator of the PDP in the State.”
In Rivers State, there is deeply rooted, unhealthy rivalry between the Ikwerre and Okrika people and this has largely contributed to Nigeria’s First Lady’s local and national affront against the Rivers State governor, who is an Ikwerre.
It is believed that Dame Jonathan is at the background of most of the offensives against Amaechi. The conflict between the two first reared its head in 2010, at a reception organised for the First Lady by her Okrika community and the Rivers State government.
At the ill-fated event, Governor Amaechi, while trying to impress on the First Lady the achievements and projections of the state government in the area of infrastructural development, was said to have told her the plans of the state government to demolish some buildings in the area, to pave way for new developments around the area.
Even as the plans did not go down well with the First Lady, she was said to have been less impressed with the language and presentation of the plans by the governor. She was said to have been miffed by what she described as the arrogant nature of the presentation by the state’s Chief Executive.
This resulted in a minor scuffle, at the event as Dame Jonathan, who is noted to be passionate about her people and constituency was said to have wrestled the microphone from the governor and went ahead to publicly scolded the governor. “You are saying, we will pull down, we will pull down. Stop acting God with the lives of less fortunate others,” she yelled at the governor.
Intrigues of Amaechi’s NGF chairmanship
Amaechi succeeded former Kwara State governor, Bukola Saraki as the chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, NGF, in 2011 for a two year tenure but on the expiration of his tenure in 2013, the governor sought for re-election against the advice of both his party and the presidency.
His refusal to yield to reasons adduced by these superior organs led to the victimisation that he was to receive. NGF believed to be politically potent in the decision as to who emerges as the president of the federation, if left in the hands of an independent and ‘recalcitrant’ Amaechi could spell doom for the ruling party and so, efforts to wrestle such power from him ensued.
First, Rivers State was divested of her oil well resulting to revenue shrunk. The aircraft belonging to the state government was impounded in a not too civil manner and top officials of the government severally harassed by the anti- corruption agencies of the government.
In one of his very numerous interviews, Amaechi, voicing out his frustration, said that his government was a major target by Jonathan’s government and even dared the President to mention anything that the state which voted for him massively in the 2011 election has done to him to warrant such ostracisation.
The defiant Amaechi had gone ahead to contest the NGF election where 19 voted in his favour while 16 voted for his rival, the Plateau State governor, Jonah Jang, in an election declared inconclusive. NGF has since been factionalized into two camps: Pro-Amaechi and pro-Jang. The impact of the struggle has seen five PDP governors defect to the APC with their supporters.
The ripple effect has also seen the PDP losing majority in the lower chamber of the National Assembly, the House of Representatives. The relationship between the governor and the occupants of the Aso Villa turned to the worse, as the President and the governor has up till then had a sort of indifferent relationship.
A divided house
The political scenario in the state has since being polarised as the crisis had crystallised into an open full-blown conflict after an Abuja High Court removed the Amaechi-backed state executive committee and installed Chief Felix Obuah instead. The implication of the court verdict is the removal of the rugs off the feet of the state governor as he no longer has control of the party in the state as the new party executive is loyal to the Supervisory Minister of Education, Nyesom Wike.
On takeoff, the Obuah-led exco announced that it will reconcile aggrieved members of the party, but from its inception, it has been involved in one conflict after the other with the state government and those associated with it, with its short existence largely characterised with all sorts of suspensions, expulsions.
The relationship between the governor and his erstwhile Chief of Staff, CoS, now Supervising Minister of Education, Wike has turned sour over the years.
Wike was at the forefront of Amaechi’s fight to claim his mandate for governorship in 2007 and on becoming governor of the state; Amaechi made him one of the greatest beneficiaries of his first tenure in office, as he made him the CoS, with sweeping powers and influence. Some people in the state referred to him as the “de-facto governor,” while he was in Amaechi’s cabinet.
Things went sour between the two associates when a governorship/ senatorial ambition drove a wedge between the two. There have been conflicting stories about betrayal between the two.
Wike however, moved on and was able to warm his way into the heart of the Presidency and he is alleged to be doing the Presidency’s hatchet job on his former boss. Amaechi, on his own part, has exhibited some executive high handedness when he, in spite of a court judgment suspended the duly elected chairman of Obio/Akpor Local Government, Hon Timothy Paul Nsirim, with the aid of the loyal Rivers State House of Assembly without regard to the rule of law as the matter was never debated by the entire Assembly. The allegation of reckless spending of public funds without due process and security breach levelled against the chairman who happens to be loyal to Wike and councilors of Obio/Akpor LGA was never substantiated
Odili and his yesterday men
Another factor, which was responsible for the crisis was linked with some politicians in the state, who were associates of former Governor Peter Odili, most of whom have now found themselves out of government. These politicians are said not to be comfortable with the fierce buccaneering nature of the young governor. “Amaechi’s swash-buckling did not go down well with them. They want control of the party structure and purse strings, but they are not even close to it with Amaechi,” an informed political watcher in the state explained.
The governor refers to these set of politicians as those who are only interested in their “stomach infrastructures.” He vowed never to relinquish the state’s treasury to them and he has vigorously resisted various attempts to involve these individuals in state matters. On the assumption of Amechi as the governor, political bigwigs such as the former Deputy Speakers of the House of Representatives, Chief Austin Okpara and Chibudom Nwuche, former Governor Celestine Omehia, Senator Lee Meeba, current Deputy National Chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, old war horse Sergent Awuse amongst others have found themselves in the retirement market so soon.
Having been frozen out of the political market for such a long time appear to put their weights behind Wike, the arrow head to seize power, an action that Amaechi is vehemently resisting.
The role of the police
The police, in the state have variously been alleged to be part of the factors igniting the flame of the crisis in the state and the attitude and operations of the security men under the leadership of much-vilified state Police Commissioner, Joseph Mbu, has not done much to disabuse people’s mind about these allegations. Mbu, is mostly regarded as and to some extent, clearly anti-Amaechi.
It is rumoured that the main reason for Mbu’s posting to Rivers State was to involve him in Aso Rock’s battle against the state governor. However, unfortunately, Mbu’s conducts and his mode of operation has been characterised largely by unpopular decisions, including the arrests of traditional rulers, youths, community leaders and politicians, perceived to be loyal to the state governor.
A worrisome development in the crisis surfaced when large scale violence was introduced to the conflict which has now gain the attention of the local and international communities, especially the two chambers of the National Assembly.
The opposing camps characteristically have started singing war songs and constantly hauled abusive and degrading languages at each other. However, it turned into a full blown crisis recently when the state House of Assembly was turned into a battle ground by the two opposing camps. Five lawmakers loyal to Wike, led by Hon. Evans Bipi tried to impeach the House leadership including the Speaker of the House, Amachree Otelemaba.
This has resulted in a rowdy session, with the resultant fracas leading to the hospitalisation of both the Majority Leader of the House, Hon. Chidi LIoyd and a pro-Wike lawmaker, Michael Chinda.
Under Commissioner Mbu’s watch, a few instances of the brazen lawlessness and violations of the Constitution were allegedly carried such as the forceful dispersal of 13,201 newly recruited teachers in the Port Harcourt Stadium using tear gas; blockading the entrance to the Government House in Port Harcourt and forcing the Amaechi to use another entrance; preventing an aircraft chartered by the state governor from taking off, alleging that the governor was trying to smuggle out a legislator wanted by the Police, the several disruptions of the Save Rivers Group rallies, and the unlawful detention of anybody perceived to be a sympathiser of Governor Amaechi, while allowing pro-Jonathan an anti-Amaechi groups to organise rallies unmolested, with full police protection, amongst others.
Calls have been made for the sack or redeployment of Mbu but neither the force nor the Presidency will hear of that. Mbu has done his job as a fine officer who is apolitical. But most Nigerians believe that there is much to the police commissioner’s bravado.
Amaechi’s defection and attendant harassment
After the state governor, had predictably defected to the opposition party, All Progressives Party, APC, together with his supporters in December 2013, there have been wide spread attacks against him and his supporters. Amaechis’s associates have variously accused the state Police Commissioner of favouritism.
They alleged that whereas pro-Wike’s group, the Grassroot Development Initiave, GDI, has been organising campaign rallies where the group and its sponsors have campaigned for the President unmolested, even though it is against the electoral laws, members of the opposition have been denied of same privilege by the police.
On January 11, this year, the Police appeared to have showed its own agenda in the crisis when its men allegedly shot Senator Magnus Abe at the Rivers State College of Arts and Science, venue of a proposed rally organised by RSM, a group believed be loyal to Amaechi, few hours before the event.
The Rivers State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Ahmad Muhammad, blamed the incident on the political group for not applying for permit to hold the Sunday rally.
He added that the crowd has to be dispersed for this reason. But the Chairman of the Save Rivers Movement, Aholu Okechukwu, made available to journalists copies of the application for permit to hold the rally written to the state Police on January 7. Reactions have been more favourable to the pro-Amaechi camp as against the police actions, in spite of the fact that the police have maintained that it will be failing in its duty if it stands and watch the peace of Rivers State being trampled upon.
APC on the offensive
The APC, Governor Amaechi’s new party last week came in defence of one of its own with a directives to its members in the National Assembly to block all legislative proposals which include the 2014 Budget as well as the confirmation of all nominees to military and civilian positions to public office until the rule of law and constitutionalism is restored in Rivers State.
APC’s National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, said that the party has resolved that if President Jonathan fails to halt the intimidation of Amaechi and offer apologies, it would call all its members to take whatever steps that are necessary to protect their lives and property.
He said: “Any cursory observer of events in Rivers State since February, 2013 will be left in no doubt as to the culture of lawlessness and impunity being promoted and supported by the Presidency, and executed by the state Commissioner of Police, Joseph Mbu, who has become the de-facto military governor of Rivers State and sole administrator of the PDP in the State.”
The battle for 2015
The situation in the state is such that Amaechi with the support of the
teaming voters will face Jonathan who has in his aisle the timbre and
calibre of Rivers politicians and the dreaded militants who have
benefitted so much from his amnesty programme. It is really
unpredictably where the pendulum will anchor but one thing that is
expected is that even the victor in this epic battle will certainly come
out with ugly bruises.
Written By Obiora Ifoh and Sam Oluwalana
Source: National Mirror
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