Governors Rabiu Kwankwaso and Sule Lamido arriving Port Harcourt |
In a statement distributed to
journalists shortly before they drove out of the Government House in the
company of their host, the governors — Babangida Aliyu (Niger) Murtala
Nyako (Adamawa), Sule Lamido (Jigawa) Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano) — said
having interacted with stakeholders in the state, it was clear that
Commissioner Mbu was being used to persecute the Rivers State Governor.
“We
wish to call on the Inspector General of Police to hearken to the
voices of reason and immediately redeploy and discipline Commissioner
Joseph Mbu,” the statement said. “His action smacks of unprofessionalism
and political partisanship which is unbecoming of his office.”
Talking
really tough, the governors threatened that they would reconsider their
earlier commitment to contribute part of their federal allocations
towards the funding of the police if the Rivers police boss was not
removed and sanctioned.
“With the way
the police is being used and abused, and with officers like Mbu in the
bus, we do not see the need for state governments to fund an
antagonistic police and may be forced to reconsider our position on the
financial contribution of states towards the funding of the Nigerian
police,” the governors said.
They
also resuscitated the debate over the desirability of state police for
the country, saying it had become a necessity since the federal
government was now in the habit of using the federal police to persecute
political enemies.
“Arising from the
action of the police, and Joseph Mbu in Rivers State, the call for
state police as a constitutional provision has become a necessity,” the
statement added. “We note that the events in Rivers state have again
brought to the fore the issue of true federalism and the need for
institutions derived from the Constitutions to be allowed to function
without undue interference. As federating units, we must be allowed the
space to guarantee our people’s sustainable development as provided by
the Constitution.”
The governors commended Mr. Amaechi for his “maturity and calm even in the face of apparent persecution”.
They
also praised the House of Representatives for its proactive leadership
in resolving the Rivers crisis and the Senate for its thoroughness in
addressing the matter.
They called on
political actors in Rivers State to “defuse tension and stop all
actions capable of overheating the polity and derailing our nascent
democracy”.
“We must all work together to build one united and indivisible nation nation and strengthen our democracy,” they said.
The
four governors were, on arrival at the Port Harcourt International
Airport earlier today, harassed by protesters, believed to have acted at
the behest of people opposed to Governor Amaechi.
The
protesters, under the aegis of Grassroots Development Initiative, had
besieged the airport shortly before the arrival of the governors.
Chanting anti-Amaechi slogans, the protesters berated the governors for intervening in Rivers State’s internal crisis.
As
the cars conveying the visiting governors drove out of the airport and
headed towards the Rivers State Government House, the protesters became
violent pelting the motorcade with stones, water bottles, sticks and
other items.
However, the governors
arrived the Government House safe, without any major incident, and
immediately went into a closed-door meeting with Mr. Amaechi.
A leader of the protesting group, Samuel Nwanosike, later said Rivers people were uncomfortable with the visit of the governors.
He
said the people of the state were capable of solving their own problem
and that the northern governors should leave them alone.
The
visiting governors have remained firm supporters of the embattled
Rivers governor. They visited in the wake of the recent state-sponsored
unrest, to which many commentators have pointed accusing fingers at
federal authorities.
Wole Soyinka,
Nobel Laureate and professor of literature, at a press conference in
Lagos last week, cautioned Patience Jonathan, wife of President
Jonathan, against invasively inserting herself in the politics of the
state, and working secretly as matron to forces trying to unseat Mr.
Amaechi and make the state ungovernable.
Mrs. Jonathan has denied the claims, drawing wide amusement when she described the Nobel Laureate as an “embarrassment.”
The Minister of State for Education, Nyesom Wike, also reportedly arrived Port Harcourt on Tuesday.
Mr. Wike, an indigene of Rivers State, has been accused of being an arrowhead of the anti-Amaechi group.
The
Rivers State Governor has been having a running battle with the
presidency over his stance on major public issues. He has since been
suspended from the PDP.
The crisis in
the state worsened last week when five state lawmakers, loyal to the
presidency, attempted to impeach the Speaker of the Rivers State House
of Assembly. The speaker and 26 other lawmakers are loyal to Mr.
Amaechi, the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum. The violent crisis
in the assembly was widely publicised on television and social media.
Mr.
Amaechi had repeatedly called for the redeployment of the Rivers State
Commissioner of Police who is accused of playing partisan role in the
crisis.
The House of Representatives
has passed a resolution also demanding the immediate removal of the
controversial police commissioner.
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