Lawmakers under fire over fresh impeachment threat against Gov Fubara

Opunabo Inko-Tariah, a former Senior Special Assistant on Media to former Governor Nyesom Wike, has charged that the Rt. Hon. Martins Amaewhule-led Rivers State House of Assembly is self-serving and indifferent to the suffering of its residents.

In a statement released on Sunday under the title "Who are the real enemies of Rivers?" Inko-Tariah implied that the state assembly was behaving to appease the whims and avarices of a single man, whose voracious appetite for public wealth and power has negatively impacted Rivers State's political landscape and slowed down the state's rate of development.

In response to a threat from the parliamentarians to reopen the impeachment process against Governor Fubara, Inko-Tariah made the statement.

He claimed that the lawmakers were determined to stifle the state's peace and prosperity rather than fight for its welfare.

Remember that the state House of Assembly had accused Governor Fubara of violating constitutional provisions on Saturday and vowed to reopen the impeachment process.

The governor is a signatory to the peace settlement that President Bola Tinubu mediated last in Abuja, and the lawmakers accused him of selectively enforcing some of its stipulations.

Part of the statement says, "It is regrettable that the Assembly has abandoned every sense of reason and cooperation necessary of them to be messengers of hostility since Mr. President mediated peace. Instead of exhibiting the same level of conciliation and dedication to peace as the governor, they have a tendency to turn into political critics determined to upset the balance of development.

"Not only is their grandstanding repugnant to the democratic ideal, but it is also offensive to the Rivers people, who naturally favour Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

The governor's calm demeanour has encouraged him to recognise the worth of every Rivers man and woman and to be open to welcoming and accommodating everyone who want to participate in the state's new growth trajectory, even in the face of these needless altercations. Since Assembly members are the most significant group in our society, they have a duty to conduct themselves in a way that honours and glorifies the state as a whole as well as the people they represent.

Inko-Tariah went on to say that Governor Fubara's regard for law and tranquilly is the reason why the state's assembly members have been able to live in relative peace.

He stressed that instead of concentrating on passing legislation to alleviate the immediate suffering of the people and advance peace and development, MPs were working feverishly to stifle the state's advancement.

“It is fundamental to state unequivocally that what the Rivers Assembly members are enjoying today is because of the respect our Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, has for peace, reconciliation and development of the state. This is in spite of the plethora of legal tussles in courts by well-meaning Rivers people and sound opinions by legal luminaries on the legitimacy of their membership.

“It is further restated that neither the governor nor Rivers people are perturbed by their threat of impeachment. They should take note that beside the credibility question legally hanging on their heads as to whether they are still members of the Assembly, they have the entire Rivers people to contend with, if they pretend to institute any form of illegal impeachment moves once again.

“I am only sounding out this for the records to save our state from unnecessary bickering that could snowball into crisis. Let us, therefore, be circumspect with our positions as such grandstanding won’t do any of us any good.

"One would have expected that the embattled members of the Rivers State House of Assembly would focus on enacting laws to ease the immediate suffering of the masses and promote peace and development at a time when economic issues top the priority list of every responsible government in Nigeria, prompting collaborative efforts between the executives and legislatures to ensure laws and policies that would alleviate the suffering of the masses are put in place in various states!”

"Yet, they resorted to diminishing their political relevance by constantly pulling down laws that supported the Nyesom Wike administration which they were part of," he continued. "This was all because Governor Fubara prevented Wike from being granted a third term."

"The young men in Rivers State are working to promote darkness, while the parliaments in other states in Nigeria are trying to pass laws that encourage growth. If so, what has prevented them from approving the executive bills that have been sent to them since October of last year, before they started down the road to perdition?

The New Town establishment Authority Bill 2023, which would decongest Rivers State's single city status and encourage the establishment of new towns, is one of the bills that was given to them for passage but is currently inert on their desk. The Rivers State Investment Promotion Agency Bill 2023 establishes an agency to promote investment drive in the state; the Power Sector Regulatory Commission Bill liberalises the power sector and increases economic development in the state; and the Rivers State Youth Entrepreneurship Development Trust Fund Bill 2023 promotes entrepreneurial growth, addresses the challenges of job creation and employment generation, and builds human capacity in the state.

If these executive measures are approved, they will ensure Rivers State's economic growth and expedite the building of infrastructure and the creation of jobs. however, more than four months later. The individuals claiming to be RSHA members, speaking for the same people experiencing financial difficulties in modern-day Nigeria, haven't even bothered to open the file to at least glance at its contents. This is as a result of the Assembly being led by a single godfather," he continued.

Similarly, members of the state House of Assembly who support former governor Nyesom Wike have threatened to impeach Governor Siminalayi Fubara again, a move that has been dismissed by the Rivers State Elders' Council.

The council said that because the 27 MPs who supported Mike had defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress, they had forfeited their seats and lacked the right to take any further action.

In response to the threat, High Chief Anabs Sara-Igbe, a pioneer spokesperson for the Pan Niger Delta Forum and a member of the Rivers Elders' Council, called the impeachment threat "ranting."

Sara-Igbe pointed out that the Court of Appeal was still handling the lawsuit contesting the lawmakers' legality.

"Well, we are going to be before the Court of Appeal on April 8, 2024," he said. We'll know where they are when we show up. The only reason they are furious is that the House of Assembly is not legitimate.

"The governor cannot give them legitimacy on his own. He merely gave them minimal acknowledgment for the sake of peace, and now they are yelling and acting anyway they choose.

It's really unfortunate. The governor does not consider that the persons you believe to be making peace do not mean well if you explain to him the implications of these actions. However, as I mentioned, we are in court, so feel free to vent all they want. In a short while, the arrogant will be humiliated, and we'll see where it ends.

"I can guarantee you that everything they are doing is illegal, so let them do as they please."

Sara-Igbe responded, "As far as we are concerned, all the eight-point agenda that was signed are illegal," to the demand that Fubara submit the 2024 budget anew. We are in court to contest it because of this. Thus, when a case is pending in court, it indicates that nothing has changed.

Thus, the court will take a stand if they refuse to do that. When you are in court, you do not make your own laws. When we are in court, the governor is not allowed to propose any budget.

Therefore, the court ought to make a determination whether they believe they are above the law. However, whether they are valid members of the House of Assembly or not, we need to know the legal ramifications from our perspective.

Source: Silvernews