Victor Ezeja
AdminDescribing the current political temperature in Rivers State as very disturbing and worrisome, Comrade Igbini Odafe says many Nigerians have been reaching out to him as ex-Governor Nyesom “Wike’s man” since the purported assassination attempt on the factional speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Edison Ehie was reported yesterday.
Speaking with Prime Business Africa on Tuesday, he disclosed that “the result of my independent preliminary investigation into this matter saddens me even though there is no proven evidence yet at my disposal that an Assassination plot was contemplated or attempted.
“But whatever happened that Sunday night in that vicinity was totally unnecessary. It should never have happen at all, not when there is still tension as a result of the unfortunate minor misunderstanding between my former Governor Wike and his political son, Governor Fubara.”
He spoke on a day when security operatives took over the entrance to the State House of Assembly complex providing a cover for the 25 lawmakers opposed to the state governor, Siminalayi Fubara, to hold their sitting. Human and vehicular movements were not allowed on the popular road throughout the duration of the sitting of the lawmakers.
Reports say the entire stretch of the Moscow Road leading to the facility was cordoned off with patrol vehicles including a police armoured personnel carrier stationed in strategic sites on the road. The lawmakers led by their speaker, Martin Amaewhule, were said to have successfully deliberated on two items including the suspension of the strike declared by the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria.
As part of their resolutions, the lawmakers asked the police to investigate the recent arson in the hallowed chambers of the state assembly and arrest and prosecute the arsonists. It was gathered that immediately after the sitting, some senior police officers reportedly locked the entrance to the assembly complex and deployed more operatives to man the area.
Another report claimed that the lawmakers loyal to Fubara held their sitting in an undisclosed location in Port Harcourt. According to Ken Uchendu, who is an Assembly correspondent in Rivers, the lawmakers led by the factional speaker, Edison Ehie, passed a vote of confidence on Fubara as part of their resolutions.
They were said to have commended the governor for his developmental strides and security initiatives to keep Rivers peaceful. They stressed that only a man of great vision and peace could steer the ship of development for the benefit of the people of the state
The lawmakers reportedly resolved to continuously give the Governor the required support to accomplish his consolidation and continuity agenda for the benefit of the state.
They were said to have condemned the attack on Ehie’s residence and the burning of the hallowed chamber of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
While appealing to Governor Fubara to begin the rehabilitation of the chamber, the lawmakers loyal to him called on the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetoku to investigate the arson and bring the culprits to book.
However, in his chat with our correspondent, Odafe continued, “I don’t want the sad thing that happened between former governor Rotimi Amaechi and Wike before year 2014 to repeat itself because it started so minor and all efforts I made to appeal to both of them to reconcile before it degenerates, failed, because of too many external interference.
“I therefore humbly appeal to all interested parties or persons in this matter to allow Peace return and reign for the benefit of our people of Rivers State and the continued progress of our beloved Rivers State. Both Wike and Fubara are politically inseparable for now and in the near future because what binds the two of them together is far far more than what can ever split them apart.
“If one of them falls now, the other must surely fall. God forbids! It is therefore for their mutual interest that each of them remains standing and rising so that both of them do same together,” said the civil society activist.
Only yesterday, this newspaper reported the Niger Delta Congress (NDC) as revealing that there are sinister plots by certain individuals to commence impeachment proceedings against the Rivers State Governor in the coming days. The group warned that any impeachment move against the Rivers Governor when lacking in justification, could be viewed under ethnic lenses “which in turn pose wider implications for not just Rivers State but regional unity, peace, and socio-political stability.”
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