Elders and leaders of Rivers across political party lines have called on the state Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, to perish plans to tamper with structures at the House of Assembly quarters located along Aba Road in Port Harcourt.
The elders comprising past and present members of the National Assembly, local government chairmen and opinion leaders spoke on Sunday when they paid a visit to the quarters to assess the condition of the buildings.
Their call is coming on the heels of the unscheduled visit to the quarters by state Governor, Siminalayi Fubara on Thursday where he suggested “a possible rehabilitation work to restore its status and make it liveable.”
The quarters are currently accommodates the Assembly members, 27 of whom are led by factional Speaker, Martin Amaewhule and are the arrow-headed of the ongoing political war between the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike and Governor Fubara.
The Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Kingsley Chinda, while stating the purpose of their visit said they were worried about reports of another impending demolition of a democratic institution and decided to assess the condition of the premises.
He said before their visit, they had already engaged experts to assess the integrity of the structures at the complex and their report showed that they would last for more than 25 years.
He observed that the Assembly built by Wike about two years ago and inaugurated by a former Speaker of the House of Representatives remained the best in Africa and was better than the National legislative quarters.
Chinda said: “Let me salute the speaker and members of the House. The assembly complex that was brought down some leaders of the state went to the USA to get that design. When it was built, it was the best state assembly in this country. That structure is nowhere today.
“However, as members of the National Assembly from Rivers State, we have joined the leaders and elders of the state to discuss the issues happening in our state the latest being the threat to bring down the structures in this premises.
“We have commissioned engineers and experts to study and give us the report of the integrity of these structures. We have received the report. And the report says these structures have a lifespan of nothing less than 25 years.
“We have on our own come out to physically inspect the structures to crosscheck it with the report we received and these structures are still strong and healthy. Our apartments in the National Assembly are not better than what we have seen here.
“We should be proud that our state assembly occupies this quarters. It is easier to destroy than to build. The one we have destroyed have we made any move to rebuild it? Let us know that public officers should be living examples in society both in character and in conduct. Let us also caution that you must govern in line with the rule of law.
“We want to advise the governor to bridle a little bit at the exuberance that we had seen within this period. It doesn’t portend well to our state.”
Chinda said the National Assembly was observing and monitoring the situation in Rivers and would soon take a decision in the collective interest of the state.
“We members of the National Assembly have not spoken. We have observed. But we cannot continue to fold our hands and watch our state fly. We are coming out and we will take a position without looking at anybody.
“It will be a position that will be in the interests of the state. No one individual is larger than Rivers State. We are members, leaders and elders of Rivers and this state we must protect,” be stated.
Welcoming the visitors to the quarters, Amaewhule told them that there was a grand plot by the governor to bring down the structures the same way he ordered the demolition of the House of Assembly complex located along Moscow Road to stop them from sitting.
He stated that the structures were in excellent condition, fully functional and were currently occupied by the lawmakers and their family members.
He condemned the way and manner the governor stormed the quarters aided by thugs and armed policemen alleging that Fubara broke the gate and allowed others to scale the fence.
Amaewhule said the lawmakers never invited the governor to come to the quarters adding that the estate remained the property of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
“Your visit is unusual visit. It shows that the good people of the state are concerned about what is happening. This facility is the facility of the Rivers State House of Assembly”, he told the elders.
The factional Speaker added; “We have also brought in experts, engineers and there is nothing wrong with these structures. They are fully in use and fully functional. All the experts confirmed to us that this building is one of the best in the entire West Africa.
“This complex was constructed by the former Governor, Nyesom Wike and inaugurated in August 2022 by the current chief of staff to Mr. President, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila. We are happy with the building and everything is working well.
“We didn’t write to the governor and we didn’t invite him. We didn’t ask for his help because we don’t need it. We don’t need his intervention in any way. Any attempt to talk about reconstruction or demolition is clearly an assault on democracy and an assault on members resident in these buildings.
“The Rivers State Government is not the office of the governor. It comprises the legislature, executive and the judiciary. The governor has no right to claim it as his personal property. It is the property of the Rivers State House of Assembly. So without an invitation to the governor, he has no right to break into our property.”
Amaewhule while showing the leaders the current legislative chamber at the complex insisted that the governor had no right to make any executive order directing lawmakers where to hold their sitting.
Citing the judgement of Omotosho, Amaewhule described the governor’s actions as a flagrant violation of orders of the Federal High Court, none of which he said had been vacated.
In his remarks, Igo Aguma, a former member of the House of Representatives, said that Justice Omotosho’s judgement indicted the governor of willful destruction of the assembly complex, alleging that Fubara committed a criminal offence.
He said: “I want to remind the governor that the same Justice Omotosho judgement had found that he willfully brought down the institution of the parliament in the Rivers State House of Assembly by demolishing it.
“He willfully did it in order to prevent them from sitting. That is malicious damage to public property. It is a criminal offence. The red biro will run dry one day and you will be made to answer. It has not been appealed against. I want to also let him know that Rivers people will muster all democratic institutions in the world to defend democracy in Rivers.
“We will not run away. We will fight him back. Democracy is the best form of government and we will have democracy in Rivers. He should take pity on the governed and remember that Rivers State House of Assembly has made itself financially autonomous”.
A former Speaker of the Rivers House of Assembly, Ikuinyi Ibani, said their assessment had shown that there was nothing wrong with the structures and called on the governor to jettison any plan to tamper with quarters.
He warned that the governor should desist from any action that could trigger a violent reaction in the state saying Fubara must at all times promote law and order in the state.
He said: “I am here with other leaders to show and prove to the world that democracy is the best form of government and that this is one institution that should be defended in any democratic setting.
“We have listened to the Speaker, Martin Amaewhule, who cited many rulings and judgement of courts in relation to what is happening in Rivers. For me as a former Speaker, I have a sense of disappointment at what is happening today.
“I can recall very vividly that in 2022 this project was inaugurated by Femi Gbajabiamila as the Speaker of the House of Reps. His comments were quite complementary and a useful tool for the development of Rivers. So, I am here with the other leaders to check whether there is anything wrong with the structure. There is nothing wrong with the structure.
“You don’t need to be a civil engineer to know there is nothing wrong with the structure. Public money should be channelled into the development of the state and making the people to be happy. The government should try to diversify the economy.
“It is old that action and reaction are equal and opposite, but I will say that action and reaction are opposite but they are not equal. When you engage in an action and the reaction comes, there is no way the reaction will be equal, in the case of Hamas and Israel. We will continue to support the speaker. Leaders who do not like democracy always attack democratic institutions first when they come to power”.
Some of the leaders at the visit are Kingsley Chinda, representing Obio/Akpor at the House Representatives; Emmanuel Deeyah, former House of Rep member; Senator Olaka Nwogu Chief Tony Okocha, Igo Aguma; Desmond Akawor, former PDP Chairman, Rivers State; Fred Kpakol, former Finance Commissioner; Emeka Woke, MD/CEO, Ogun-Osun River Basin Authority; George Ariolu, LGA Chairman, Obio/Akpor;
Erastus Awortu, LGA chairman, Andoni; Samuel Nwanosike, LGA chairman Ikwerre among others.
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