The Rivers Elders and Leaders Forum (RELF), has said 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly no longer have the legal mandate to impeach Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
He said those parading themselves as lawmakers lost their seats following their defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Spokesman of the forum, High Chief Anabs Sara-Igbe, disclosed this yesterday in a telephone interview with LEADERSHIP in Port Harcourt.
Recall that the APC had on Tuesday directed its lawmakers to commence impeachment processes against Governor Siminalayi Fubara, threatening to slam sanctions against them should they refuse.
The ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state however described the plan as laughable.
Sara-Igbe said: “First of all, as far as we are concerned, those members who parade themselves as House of Assembly members have voluntarily ceased to be members of the House by virtue of Section 109.
“To make matters worse for them, their seats were declared vacant by the court. We are also in court and presently in the Court of Appeal and the Court of Appeal has reserved judgement as to what will happen to their fate.
“We are of the view that in the next three months, the Court will be able to interpret Section 109 as applicable in this case. Also, the eight-point presidential directive, we will also know whether it is applicable or not,” he said.
Meanwhile, mixed reactions have trailed the impeachment call.
Speaking to LEADERSHIP, the state commissioner for Information and Communications, Warisenibo Joe Johnson, accused the APC caretaker committee chairman in the state, Chief Tony Okocha, of raising a smoke screen.
Johnson said: “Tony Okocha does not have the locus standi to direct. Tony Okocha by definition is an acting caretaker chairman and you know once there exists a caretaker, it means there is a substantive chairman of APC in the name of Chief Emeka Beke. That matter is before the jury and the issue of he has the power to direct means that the answer is no.
“Section 109(1g) of the Constitution of Nigeria which is our grund norm has already eliminated the existence of those young men who crossed from the major political party to another party. Because APC as a matter of fact does not have leadership. They have a leadership that is Tony Okocha on one hand, in contention with Chief Emeka Beke on the other hand, so whose report shall we follow?
“So the governor was right to say that by our own law, the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria says that once an Assembly member, not House of Reps, not a governor, not the president, an Assembly member that has moved from his own political party that brought him to power, once he defects he losses. No court on our land can change it, once the constitution states a thing it becomes law.
“What Tony Okocha is raising is a smoke screen. He is standing on one leg. He does not have the locus standi to direct. And let me assure you, Rivers people will resist it to the last point.”
Speaking to LEADERSHIP also, a former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ogbonna Nwuke, said the APC was only trying to make noise in order to attract the attention of the people of the state.
Nwuke said: “I think that is reckless. It is not something we should be talking of at this time.
If we are to talk about impeachment, what would be the grounds for impeachment. I think it is just an attempt to overheat the system.
“At this time, all attention may be focus on the first one year of this administration and they probably want to make some noise and draw some attention. As things are, it is not something that is likely to fly because most Rivers people oppose the idea of using impeachment as a weapon.
“Basically, what they are trying to achieve is to heighten the already tensed political situation in the state at a time when we should be looking at the first one year in office of a government that has shown capacity to ensure good governance and ensure peace. So, the intention is very clear.”
On his part, a loyalist of the minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike and PDP chieftain in the state, Hon. Bouchi Nsirim, lauded the APC for urging the House of Assembly to commence impeachment proceedings on Fubara.
Nsirim insisted that the governor was going out of the way and needed to be called to order through the instrumentality of the law, as enshrined in the country’s constitution.
He said: “Well, you know we run a democratic system and it is most unfortunate that the governor of Rivers State has allowed the political imbroglio in the state to make him forget that this is not a Banana Republic. This is a country and a state governed by laws.
“It is most unfortunate that the governor allowed emotions over the razzmatazz that happened when the first governor of Rivers State and his friends from Bayelsa State visited him wherein he openly declared that the Rivers State House of Assembly does not exist.
“One wonders if the governor is aware that the State House of Assembly is an independent arm of government. If you recall, the governor has done quite a lot of things since this issue started, that is enough to earn him an impeachment.
“But, because members of the Rivers State House of Assembly believe that what is important to them is to sustain the peace that they are trying to build in the state, they have allowed that to linger for a while.
“For him to come to the extent he has come now, I can agree with the APC that in fact, the level we have gotten to, the ideal thing to do at this point is to call the governor to order. How else will you call an executive governor that has immunity to order? You can’t arrest him and you can’t beat him up.
“It is only to use the instrumentality of the law. It is enshrined there in our constitution that when the governor strays, the only way to call him to order is to use the instrumentality of the law. So, for the APC in the state to demand that the governor should be impeached, I do not think that they are asking for too much. What they are demanding for is within the ambits of the law. It is just that the governor starts doing what is ideal.”
