- Cry out over economic woes, destruction of lives, property
- N1.911trn projects abandoned in 12 years – Analysts
- Sharing of Rivers IGR cause of feud between Gov, ex-Gov – Annkio Briggs
As Rivers State returns to political crisis between top leaders, economists and investors have said that another round of loss is in the offing in the oil rich state.
The present fight is between the godfather, Nyesom Wike, who was governor for eight years and who handpicked Sim Fubara to succeed him.
Although political analysts said that the cause of the fight is under debate, it has taken the pattern of the same wars that set the state back from 2012 to 2015 between Wike and his predecessor and godfather, Rotimi Amaechi.
Experts said that the crisis has destroyed human lives, property and growth opportunities, and the worst being investment opportunities.
According to findings by The Point, political crisis in Rivers State has been fight to the finish from the late Alabo Graham Douglas vs Odili; Marshall Harry vs Odili; Odili vs Amaechi; Amaechi vs Wike; and now Wike vs Fubara.
Speaking with The Point on the protracted crisis, environmental and human rights activist, Ann-kio Briggs, blamed the crisis bedeviling the state on the alleged insistence of former Governor Wike to control the state’s internally generated revenue, even after the end of his eight years in office.
Briggs while condemning the actions of the former governor that tilted towards tearing the state into ethnic leanings cautioned that the ‘war’ has nothing to do with the indigenes of the state.
She insisted that two people cannot be in possession of the red pen and since there is only one governor and now that Fubara has the red pen, the decision over the state’s IGR is squarely his responsibility not anyone else’s
She said every indigene of the state, including the former governor, should respect his decisions.
“All indigenes of Rivers State and non- indigenes, who live and work in Rivers State should not be silent at this time in Rivers State as the fallout from the oppressive ambition will affect Rivers State, Niger Delta and Nigeria’s economy.
“The politics of Rivers State is politics of upland and riverine, this is one of the sentiments behind the choice of the former Governor of Rivers State, now the Minister of FCT in choosing Governor Fubara to take over from him,” Briggs said.
The Chief of Staff to Governor Fubara, Edison Ehie, also gave more insight on the reason behind the frosty relationship between his principal and Wike.
Ehie said the problem in Rivers State began when a few political leaders sought exclusive control of the resources of the state.
Ehie warned that the governor is capable of teaching his opponents a political lesson.
“The problem we have in the state is that 11 persons said they will control the resources of Rivers State. These 11 persons now called 20 others to allocate resources to them,” he said.
He warned that despite Fubara’s youthful age, he has the capacity to teach his opponents a political lesson.
“We are going to teach them a lesson of political arithmetic. What that small boy will do to you you’ll know that khaki no be leather (sic),” Ehie stated.
“Ann-kio Briggs, blamed the crisis bedeviling the state on the alleged insistence of former Governor Wike to control the state’s internally generated revenue, even after the end of his eight years in office.”
A media practitioner, public commentator, politician and traditional ruler in Rivers State, Chris Finebone, argued that investors, local and foreign, will likely exercise due caution in going ahead with any new significant investments and projects at this time.
“Meetings between partners and government officials will either be postponed or out rightly cancelled due to distraction of government officials. Intending business investors and partners are likely to look at other states that have all that Rivers State has and are peaceful. It’ll take little or nothing extra to move to, say, Akwa Ibom or Bayelsa States for example.
“The economic casualties and costs of the endless political crisis in Rivers State is an interesting area to look at. The focus is how this scenario affects governance. Infrastructure is highly affected because of the posture of the Rivers State House of Assembly and the delays in looking at laws. The Commissioner of Finance is expected to be frustrating the process.
“It is the masses, not the governor , that suffers. He (Fubara) is eager to move fast in infrastructure. So, they are frustrating jobs.
“This fight is about one man, not anything else. It’s not about the people. Most big names are not ready to speak. They are leaving it to small people. Imagine if infrastructure was going fast as the governor had wanted.
“This governor is allowing SMEs to do things these days instead of in the past when only big guys were doing all the supplies. Business people know these things but may not talk.”
The Executive Director, Youths and Environmental Advocacy Centre and convener of the National Conference on Organised Crime in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea, Fyneface Dumnamene, recalled that the economic casualties began since 2012 when Governor Chibuike Amaechi had issue with the Goodluck Jonathan-led Federal Government.
He said the feud grew more when Nyesom Wike came in threatening to ensure he collected the political structure of the state when Amaechi defected from the ruling People’s Democratic Party to the newly formed All Progressives Congress.
According to him, the state witnessed some stability all the time Wike ruled as governor but it has started again now that Wike is back as a minister.
“It has started again between the godfather (Wike), who felt he singlehandedly installed the godson (Fubara), due to many alleged disagreements in their deal. This has led to discontinuity of economic activities.
“Economically speaking, Amaechi started fish farms in Andoni, Degema, Buguma. He also started the banana farm, Songhai farm, syringe factory, and re-started the Risonpalm. When Wike came in, due to their disagreements, Wike ‘destroyed’ all these ventures due to the differences between them. The economic casualty has been enormous. Wike did not continue the monorail project and the pillars stand today like a monument in the city. Several economic foundations or ventures built by Amaechi died because of the political crisis.
“Wike governed without disruption but he has picked a fight with his godson. Now, he has started disruptions afresh.
“Governor Sim Fubara started to revive these economic ventures and we hear it angered Wike and the fighting started. Now, the economy has become the greatest casualty. It is the economic projects in the state that have suffered most.
“The people should demand that the government should be allowed to work without disruption. Let the lawmakers and commissioners allow peace to reign. Let the governor face the people that elected him into office. Let Wike and Governor Fubara sit down and talk their differences over.
“Let the governor go ahead and revive the abandoned economic ventures such as the Andoni fish farm, Songhai Farms. Let all parties sheathe their swords and allow the governor to work.
“Since Fubara has shown interest to revive some of the abandoned ventures, let him be supported to revive them and start new ones to generate revenue. Let parties sheathe their swords,” Dumnamene pleaded.
The Point also gathered that abandoned projects that would have boosted the economy and Gross Domestic Product of Rivers State amounted to N1.911trillion plus some without ready amounts attached to them.
These projects that have stalled included the N250bn bond approved by the Rivers State House of Assembly in July 2010 to build some listed projects but before drawdown could take place, the crisis erupted in 2012.
The other is the N375bn (or $250m) World Bank water project that was to transform Port Harcourt into a modern city.
Everything was said to be done but the office of the Minister of Finance that was to sign off for its drawdown was allegedly prevented from signing it under Goodluck Jonathan when Wike was the Minister of Education.
When Wike became governor, it was learnt that all efforts to revive the loan proved abortive.
Another project was the plan to develop the state capital into a fast-moving transport system known as Monorail with about N250bn with over N20bn already spent by the state government and with most trunks of coaches said to already be at the Onne Port. The project was abandoned when Wike came to power.
One of Wike’s former Special Adviser, Oounabo Inko-Tariah, now a Fubara loyalist, defended Governor Fubara, attributing impeachment threats against him to sentimental politics and questioning their validity.
He said, “Lots of people feel we will arrive at the resolution of the issues but certain persons are adamant for some parochial reasons to ensure that they remove the governor on the basis of impeachment; impeachment is not removal, it simply means official indictment. It is after impeachment that you have removal or they make the state ungovernable for the governor. What has the governor done to warrant impeachment if not for political and sentimental reasons?
“First and foremost, I heard and have listened to the argument of the issue of the House of Assembly members at my mercy. Authoritatively, I can say they are at his mercy. We had a matter in court, where the legality of the assembly members was questioned, having defected to APC and we all know that save two extenuating circumstances, one, melding of political parties or crisis in the political parties, once you defect by section 109(G), automatically you have lost your seat as a member of the house of Assembly.”
Joining his voice on the issue of defection among House of Assembly members, Wike’s former aide further reestablished that once legislators defect from their political parties, they automatically forfeit their seats, citing legal provisions.
Inko-Tariah also highlighted the efforts Governor Fubara made towards peace and reconciliation, indicating his reluctance to employ coercive legal measures against defected members.
“In the spirit of peace and reconciliation, the governor of Rivers State, after meeting with President Bola Tinubu, said, ” I would not set the coercive legal machinery against these persons. They have defected and that is self-executor. Once you defect, you have lost your seat as a member of the House of Assembly or as a legislator in the country,” he quoted the governor as saying.
Inko-Tariah also stated emphatically that the people of Rivers State are only fighting in a bid to protect the governor’s seat. He added that the eight-point agenda signed by the governor in Aso Rock was not planned on legality but on legitimacy.
A human rights lawyer and political commentator, Maxwell Opara in taking a holistic look at the protracted crises in Rivers State said the solution is two-fold.
“One, the court must play the role that complies with its existence by ensuring that the constitution remains a grand norm in all its judgments regarding the matter before it while on the other hand, the President should shun party affiliation and come out tough politically to make sure the state is not stalled by the crises.
“There are two-fold solutions for this crisis. If you check very well, the Rivers State crisis has two major aspects now: political and legal or constitutional. In the area of constitution and legal, the court must not fail the good people of Rivers State. The constitution is very clear on what has happened in the Rivers State House of Assembly. 25 members woke up, received phone calls from Abuja and before anyone said Jack Robinson, they jumped out of the PDP and jumped into the APC. What does the Constitution say about that?
“Investors, local and foreign, will likely exercise due caution in going ahead with any new significant investments and projects at this time.”
“For emphasis, Section 109 (1) (g) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, provides that: a member of a House of Assembly shall vacate his seat in the House if … (g) being a person whose election to the House of Assembly was sponsored by a political party, he becomes a member of another political party before the expiration of the period for which that House was elected.
“It should be noted that Section 109 (1) (g) of the Constitution is self-executor. The import of this provision is that the members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, who defected, have vacated their seat by reason of that defection.
“These former lawmakers on their own and in a bid to please their master abandoned their seats in the legislature. So how can anyone compel the governor to bring them back? Is Governor Fubara the constitution of Nigeria? So, the courts must make sure that judgments are worth their salt and not based on political leanings.
“The second aspect of it is for President Tinubu to call his FCT Minister to order. Tell him to concentrate on the massive work to be done in Abuja and leave the governor alone to serve the people of Rivers state. He was elected by the people and the people are expecting much from him. Almost 100 days in office, this man has been faced with distractions. So the President has a responsibility to genuinely broker peace, not the type he did at the Villa by taking the position of the constitution.”
Opara regretted that these things are happening because there is no practice of democracy in Nigeria.
“These things happening in Rivers State is because there is no democracy in Nigeria. What we flaunt as democracy has defied all academic teachings and tenets of democracy as practiced in other countries of the world. A man governed a state for eight years, progressed to become a minister of the Federal Government yet wants to be pseudo governor of the state. It is unheard of and the earlier the President attends to this, the better,” he said.
On the injunction barring the defected lawmakers, Opara said the court will bring normalcy back to the state if the judges uphold the constitution.
“The 1st to 25th defendants in the extant suit are the factional Speaker, Amaewhule and his colleagues who defected from the People’s Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress, after winning elections; while the 26th to 28th defendants are Governor Siminalayi Fubara, the Attorney-General of the State and the Chief Judge of Rivers State, respectively.
The court further ordered that, “this Order, the Motion on Notice and the writ and other processes in this case be served on the 1st to 25th Defendants/Respondents within seven (7) days from date, by substituted means to wit: pasting at the entrance gate of the Rivers State House of Assembly Legislative Quarters, Off Aba Road, Port Harcourt and for such service to be deemed good and proper,” Opara analyzed.
