Rivers State House of
Assembly vowed on Thursday that nothing will make them impeach the State
Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, who has been engaged in a running battle with the
leadership of his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Presidency.
The lawmakers also assured
that there was no plan to impeach Amaechi and reiterated their unalloyed
loyalty and support for him.
They debunked allegations
that they have been induced to impeach the Governor, and stressed that none of
them even sees impeachment as an option in the ongoing feud.
A newspaper report that was
reechoed by some radio stations in Port Harcourt on Thursday, said eight
lawmakers had jumped ship to the Obuah-led PDP, thereby swelling the rank of
the opposition to Amaechi to 13 from the original five since the crisis blew
open on April 15 after the sacking of the Godspower Ake-led state PDP executive
by an Abuja High Court.
The position of the lawmakers
on the matter was contained in a communique which each of them personally
signed in Port Harcourt, the state capital on Thursday.
The communique, a copy of
which was obtained by Journalist, reads: “We have observed with
consternation, dangerous rumors making the rounds, even appearing on the pages
of national dailies that we, the 27 members of the Rivers State House of
Assembly have been financially induced to impeach His Excellency, Rt. Hon.
Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, C.O.N, Governor of Rivers State, and Chairman Nigerian
Governors Forum.
“For the avoidance of doubt,
we make bold to categorically state as follows: that we have not and will not
receive any pecuniary gratification or marginal oil fields;
“That we are united in our
resolve to commit our unalloyed loyalty to His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Chibuike R.
Amaechi, Governor and the people of Rivers State;
“That we the undersigned do
not contemplate the impeachment of His Excellency, Rt. Hon. Chibuike R. Amaechi
as an option.
“We reiterate our loyalty to
the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Dr. Goodluck Ebele
Jonathan, the leader of our Great Party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),”
the lawmakers concluded.
In a separate statement,
Speaker of state House of Assembly, Otelemaba Dan Amachree, also denied the
newspaper reports that eight out of the 27 lawmakers who were suspended by the
Felix Obuah-led PDP executive council have defected to the opposing faction.
Amachree, who acknowledged
the “strong rumour”, stated that he had checked among his colleagues and got
the reassurances of their loyalty to Amaechi who the report stated was losing
followership among the legislators and therefore risked being impeached.
Amachree, while debunking the
media report through his Press Secretary, Udede Jim-Opiki, said he also “read
the report in a national newspaper.”
“He personally checked on 26
others and they all restated their loyalty to the Governor of Rivers State, Rt,
Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi.
“The Speaker also warned
against assumptions and reports that intend to impinge on the integrity of the
members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
“Mr. Speaker is not aware, if
at all, that any of the 26 others have been compromised. He is confident that
his colleagues (26 others) would never be part of any plot to impeach Governor
Rotimi Amaechi,” the statement stated.
It added: “On behalf of the
Rivers State House of Assembly, the Speaker is calling on well-meaning Rivers
people to pray for speedy return of peace and normalcy to the PDP, a party they
have all been working and building since the inception of this democratic
dispensation in 1999.”
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