‘Rivers Political Crisis, Unfortunate’

A politician in Rivers
State, Mr Billy Kalagbor has blamed the festering political crisis in the state to the dysfunctioning of the legislative process of governance, noting that the development was a deliberate ploy to ground the socio-economic development of the state.
Kalagbor who spoke with The Tide in an interview in Port Harcourt, last week, said inspite of the constitutional approval of the House of Representatives to take over the duties of the Rivers State House of Assembly, the decision has not served the best interest of the state.
Kalagbor, a former flagbearer of the Hope Democratic Party for the Port Harcourt Constituency 1 seat into the state House of Assembly said the House of Representative were  equally docile and had their own pressing challenges and as well lack the impetus for effective legislative duties in Rivers State.
He said Rivers people should be wary of the trend of political developments, and called on hectors in the power play to sheathe their sword and work collectively to restore sanity in the political process of the state, noting that traditional rulers have a fundamental role to play in the entire process.
According to him, “The fact that the law making arm of a foremost Nigerian state, like Rivers, is not working in a democratic dispensation and it does not call to the heart of the actors in the power play, is disheartening”.
The politician, who described Rivers State as a “costly political bride”, noted that there were people benefiting from the crisis in the state and will want it to persist.
He called for a new political consciousness among the people ahead of the 2015 general election to evolve, a new political order in which the people’s views would be sacrosanct.
He noted that Rivers State was bigger than any political party and called on members of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP to amicably resolve their problems without making it a burden on the citizenry.
Reacting to the Anambra State Governorship Poll, the politician urged the Independent Electoral Commission, INEC, to build confidence in the electorate in the 2015 general election which is a determinant factor in Nigerian political process.

Taneh Beemene