Politics
APC’s Impeachment Threat, Invitation To Anarchy -Rivers Info Commissioner
The Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mr Joe Johnson, and the former organising secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Andoni Local Government Area (ANOLGA), Elder Blessing Tiko have faulted the call for the impeachment of Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
The duo who spoke at different fora in Port Harcourt described the call for the impeachment of Governor Fubara by the caretaker committee chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Mr Tony Okocha, as an invitation to anarchy.
On his part, Mr Johnson said, in an interview with a radio station in Port Harcourt, that members of The Rivers State House of Assembly also lacked the legitimacy to continue to perform legislative duties having defected from their former party.
While quoting a section of the 1999 Constitution, he said the country’s supreme rule book is specific about defection of members of the House of Assembly, adding that the lawmakers by the constitution have no legal power to legislate for the state.
Speaking on the issue of local government election, the Commissioner said that the purported agreement with the president does not urge the Governor to hold local government elections, adding that the agreement only warned against dissolution of local government councils and setting up of caretaker committees.
He said the Governor has not even contemplated dissolving the elected local government council executives and the setting up of caretaker committees.
The Commissioner also argued that there is no way the Governor can represent a budget already passed by a validly constituted House of Assembly.
According to him, the Assembly that passed the budget was legally recognised by law, adding that there was no way a budget that is now an Act of the state Assembly can be represented.
Also speaking, a former organising secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Andoni Local Government Area, Elder Blessing Tiko, said in the eyes of the law, the 27 members of the House of Assembly were no longer relevant, having defected to the APC, adding that whatever they were doing was dead on arrival.
He urged them to allow the Governor to govern his people.
“Any one who throws stone in the market will not know whom the stone will touch, therefore, they should not be throwing stones that will hunt them at last or in the nearest future”, he said.
Elder Tiko challenged Mr Okocha to carry out his threat, if he is capable.
He urged the Governor not to be distracted as God and Rivers people were solidly behind him.
John Bibor
President Bola Tinubu has congratulated winners of the legislative by-elections held yesterday across Gombe, Kano, Bauchi and Delta states.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) won four of the five seats, while the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) secured the remaining seat in Bauchi State.
The President’s congratulatory message is contained in a statement issued by Presidential Spokesperson, Mr Bayo Onanuga, in Abuja, yesterday.
The successful APC candidates include Kallamu MaiJama’a, Gombe/Kwami/Funakaye Federal Constituency, Gombe; and Husseini Datti, Dawakin Kudu State Constituency, Kano.
Others are Okolosi Ator, Udu State Constituency, Delta; and Yakubu Ali, Disina State Constituency, Bauchi.
Adamu Yakubu of the APM won the Sakwa State Constituency seat in Bauchi State.
Tinubu said the victories recorded by APC candidates demonstrated the confidence Nigerians reposed in the party’s capacity to govern effectively and deliver shared prosperity.
“I am encouraged by the support Nigerians at the grassroots continue to show for our party and for the difficult but necessary reforms our administration has implemented over the past three years,” Tinubu said.
He urged Nigerians to remain steadfast in their support for the APC and resist being swayed by political opportunism.
“I urge Nigerians to remain steadfast and not be swayed by political opportunism. The benefits of these reforms will become increasingly evident as we enter the next phase of our programme,” he added.
The President urged the winners to justify the confidence their constituents had placed in them through diligent and effective representation.
He also encouraged other candidates to accept the outcomes in good faith and continue contributing to the democratic process.
Tinubu commended voters and security agencies for maintaining peace and order during the elections.
He also applauded the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for successfully conducting the polls.
The President urged INEC to build on the progress recorded in the by-elections and address identified shortcomings ahead of future polls.
He particularly urged the commission to strengthen preparations for the general elections scheduled for January and February 2027.
The coalition described the incident as an aftermath of “primitive and aggressive tribalism” in a statement signed by its spokesman, Pastor Edewor Egedegbe, and made available to journalists in Warri at the weekend.
The group described the clash as “an existential assault on human dignity and a fundamental betrayal of the social contract,” while calling on security agencies to strictly enforce the Criminal Code Act against those responsible.
“Those who orchestrated and participated in Friday’s madness and previous actions in this regard must be prosecuted swiftly and publicly,” the coalition said.
While acknowledging the Delta State Government’s directive to law enforcement personnel to investigate the incident, the coalition said the authorities should move beyond directives and ensure the immediate arrest of those responsible.
It said the disruption of activities along the Effurun-Warri corridor affected residents, including market women, daily-wage workers and business owners, who had to bear the consequences of the violence.
The coalition also cited Sections 33 and 41 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, which guarantee the rights to life and freedom of movement, arguing that the disruption of the corridor amounted to an infringement on those rights.
It condemned the use of violence in political activities, saying democracy should be based on the contest of ideas rather than physical attacks.
“The ballot box is an instrument of human self-determination, not a justification for seasonal bloodletting,” the group said.
The coalition further called on political leaders to publicly disown acts of violence and caution their supporters against hate speech and electoral sabotage.
It urged traditional, religious and community leaders in Delta State to join efforts to prevent further violence and protect public spaces.
“We appeal to the residents of Effurun, Warri, and the Uvwie community not to allow themselves to be weaponised by elites,” the coalition said.
It added, “Delta State belongs to all of us. Effurun and Warri are spaces for humans to flourish, not to be casualties for political gladiators.”
The party described the campaign council as unauthorised, saying the list did not emanate from the NDC and should therefore be disregarded by members of the public and the media.
The NDC National Chairman, Senator Cleopas Moses, made the position known in a statement on Saturday, following the unveiling of the Council by the support group on Thursday.
The 59-member committee comprises zonal and state coordinators as well as directors responsible for mobilisation, women’s affairs, strategy, security, legal affairs and other areas.
The OK Movement had announced its Director-General, Mr John Ughulu, and National Secretary, Saadatu Sani, as the Director-General and Secretary of the campaign council, respectively.
But Senator Moses said the party leadership was not involved in the constitution of the council.
“The party hereby dissociates itself in totality from the said OK Movement PCC announcement. It did not emanate from the party and should be disregarded by the public and the media,” he said.
The NDC chairman stressed that all candidates of the party remained subject to the authority and discipline of the party and were not contesting as independent candidates.
“All candidates of the party must appreciate that they are not running as independent candidates. They are products of the party and remain subject to the authority and discipline of the party.
“Therefore, only the party’s leadership can constitute and announce a Presidential Campaign Council”, Senator Moses said.
He warned members, candidates and support groups against announcing or operating campaign structures in the name of the party without approval from its National Working Committee (NWC).
“Henceforth, no individual or group is authorised to announce, constitute, or publish any campaign council, structure, or organ in the name of the party without prior approval from the National Working Committee (NWC),” he added.
Senator Moses acknowledged the contributions of support groups to the party’s activities but cautioned them against creating structures that could function as alternatives to the recognised party organs.
“While the party will continue to work collaboratively with all support groups, such groups should not see themselves as alternative party structures or parallel organs of the party,” he said.
He also urged members and support groups with grievances to use the party’s internal mechanisms rather than resorting to public criticism.
The NDC chairman further disclosed that Mr Ughulu would be referred to the appropriate disciplinary organ of the party over what he described as “his excesses during the primary election in Lagos State” and “repeated disregard for party authority.”
-
Education7 hours ago
Etche Education Family Honours Commissioner, Pledges Support For Fubara Reforms
-
City Crime6 hours ago
Renaissance Energy Pledges Stronger Partnership With RIVCHPP
-
News6 hours agoTinubu Hails By-election Winners In Four States
-
Niger Delta5 hours ago
Publisher Counts Losses As Fire Guts His Residence In Yenagoa
-
Rivers6 hours ago
FG Halts Push For Oil Prospecting In Ogoni …To Review MOUs In Oil Mining Resumption
-
News6 hours ago
Odu Commends Ex-Council Chairman For Investing In House Of God
-
Politics7 hours ago
Delta APC, NDC Clash: Group Demands Perpetrators’ Arrest, Prosecution
-
News3 hours ago
RSG Distributes Relief Materials To Obio/Akpor Flood Victims …Urges Residents To Maintain Sanitation