Jonathan vs Amaechi: Pandemonium in Rivers Assembly

[Mirror]

. Hoodlums invade House, Leader beaten to coma

The political crisis that has engulfed Rivers State as a result of the feud between President Goodluck Jonathan and Governor Rotimi Amaechi escalated yesterday as lawmakers engaged in physical combat in the House of Assembly.

Yesterday's fracas was precipitated by the plot to impeach the Speaker, Otelemaba Dan Amachree by the five anti-Amaechi lawmakers Micheal Okechukwu Chinda, Victor Ihunwo, Michael Amaewhule, Godspower Kelechi Nwogu and Evans Bapakaye Bipialaka.

Bipialaka declared himself as the Speaker.

A fake mace, the instrument of authority of the House, was used in conducting the proceedings during which the anti-Amaechi lawmakers purportedly impeached Amachree.

As at yesterday, the two lawmakers laid claims to being the authentic Speaker.

Former Niger Delta militants also took part in the melee as they sided with the faction of the lawmakers loyal to the Minister of State for Education, Nyesom Wike, and assaulted legislators within the Assembly premises.

The Majority Leader of the House, Chidi LIoyd, was beaten by supporters of the anti-Amaechi lawmakers and the militants. In the process, he sustained bruises, injuries and was later hospitalised.

"We went in as members who have not seen ourselves for sometime because of the crisis in the state. I was on my seat, without provocation, Hon. Evans Bipi came to me in the full glare of everybody and before the cameras and started raining punches on me," Lloyd said yesterday.

While on his hospital bed yesterday, LIoyd also said his family members had received death threats.

Two Sport Utility Vehicles in the convoy of Governor Amaechi and his deputy, Tele Ikuru, were vandalised by hoodlums.

In the midst of the pandemonium, the police on guard at the Assembly premises only provided security for the five anti- Amaechi lawmakers.

Even, a member of the Assembly, Hon. Victor Amadi (Etchie Constituency1), complained to newsmen that he was assaulted by a policeman during the incident.

"A mobile policeman beat me up as we were coming out of the Chambers," Amadi said. Trouble started when the five anti-Amaechi lawmakers sneaked into the Assembly complex about 10a.m., an hour before the mandatory 11a.m. sitting time and proceeded to "impeach" the Speaker, Amachree.

The five lawmakers also allegedly suspended 15 other members of the Assembly for anti-party activities.

They were said to have elected Bipialaka as the new Speaker, while also sharing other positions to themselves. However, 23 members of the Amaechi faction, including the Speaker, Amachree, resumed sitting at the mandatory 11a.m. with journalists in attendance.

They proceeded to deliberate on the matter for the day, which was a letter from the government seeking permission for an amendment in the state's fiscal budget.

The request was presented by the Deputy Governor, Ikuru, who read the letter and was later allowed to leave the chambers after being informed about the decision of the House to deliberate on the matter at a latter day.

This lasted for about 40 minutes as the matter for the day was tabled for further deliberation after which the House decided to break into groups.

During proceedings in the Assembly, the self-styled new Speaker of the House, Bipialaka stormed into the gallery where journalists covering the session were seated and attempted to disrupt proceedings. He was bundled out of the area by security men when it was alleged that he was in possession of a canister of teargas.

Along with some of his supporters, he was alleged to have earlier assaulted the House Leader, LIoyd, and beaten him black and blue before he was rushed to the hospital drenched in his own blood. Another aspect of the drama ensued when at the end of proceedings, Amachree left the chambers for his car.

He was accosted by Bipilalaka, who attempted to query him on why he was denied entrance to the chambers during the session. He was, however, prevented by some mobile policemen, while the Speaker was hurriedly spirited out of the area by his security details.

A lawmaker was, however, not so lucky as he was given blow that landed him flat on the floor by one of the anti-Amaechi lawmaker, as he attempted to join the Speaker in his car. Both later claimed victory after the chaos in the House.

Standing among his supporters, who were celebrating his victory, Bipialaka told National Mirror that he was the new Speaker of the House and that his faction would not make any reconciliatory attempt with the Amaechi loyalists because "we don't belong to the same party."

He said: "We will not reconcile with the other members because they are not in the same party with us, so what is there to reconcile? "I am the new Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly and my election was witnessed by other members of the Assembly. I emerged as the Speaker of the House and I want to assure Rivers State people that the new order has come.

"I am now Rt. Hon. Speaker Evans Bapakaye Bipialaka." He took a swipe at Governor Amaechi on his alleged interference in the House affairs. "As far as I am concerned, Governor Amaechi is a failure, or how can a governor supervise the impeachment of some members of the House of Assembly?" However, his allegation was refuted by the other 23 members who sat in the House.

They said that Amaechi was not present at the House of Assembly complex throughout the day. The members, led by the Speaker, later held an interactive session with some journalists at the Governor's Office. The Speaker asked the public to disregard the assertions of the other five members as he said that the leadership of the House had not changed.

He said he was unhappy over the handling of the situation by the police, stressing that he had instructed the Clerk of the House on Monday to write to the Commissioner of Police, intimating him of the plans of the Assembly to sit on Tuesday and requested for the police to provide security for the members. Unfortunately, he said, there was no official representation by the police.

"The leadership of the House has not changed; the House leadership is still intact. Evans Bipi's stories are all fallacies and they are lies.

"We sat today and there was no attempt to impeach me and the other officers of the House. How can five members just sit and impeach the leadership of the House? "We did not expect chaos in today's sitting when Evans tried to attack me and the House Leader.

"I was shocked at the way the police handled the situation. Yesterday (Monday) I directed the Clerk to write to the CP and the Brigade Commander of the Army formation here in order to avoid the repeat of the last sitting, where some hoodlums stormed the Assembly.

"To my surprise, there was no policeman or soldier around to do that. The few policemen around were acting funny. "However, let me say here for the avoidance of doubt that members can fight inside the House chambers, it happens all over the world, but for someone to come into the chambers with hoodlums, it is unfortunate. "We are going to write to the National Assembly and the Inspector-General of Police over the conduct of the police today."

But the Commissioner of Police, Mbu Joseph Mbu, denied taking sides in the crisis. Mbu said that he actually sent some policemen to the Assembly as requested by the House leadership. "We are not taking sides with any faction in the crisis, we received their letter requesting for security and we sent some policemen to the place.

The Majority Leader of the House, Lloyd, gave a vivid account of what happened: "Well, yesterday, the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Otelema Dan Amachree, directed that the House be reconvened to consider an amendment to the 2013 appropriation law which the governor had communicated to him via a letter and as if Mr. Speaker saw what was going to happen today, he wrote a letter through the Clerk of the House to the Commissioner of Police to provide security for today's sitting and he also wrote to the commander of 2 Amphibious Brigade, who also doubles as the head of the internal JTF.

"So, when we got to work this morning (Tuesday), we saw the presence of policemen numbering over 50 and we thought that this was in response to Mr. Speaker's request. "Shortly thereafter, I noticed that the five anti- Amaechi members were discussing in clusters and calling on their boys to come in.

"Initially, the policemen were searching everybody who would come into the premises. I had to even come down at the gate and trekked into the premises.

So, after a while, we learnt that there were phone calls and the commissioner of police personally called the unit, the man in charge to allow everybody in.

"As his leader, I did not react because I felt that it is something we could settle, whatever it is, maybe I didn't greet him also.

So, he continued and the Speaker intervened and said, ha, what's happening? "Then he reached out for the tripod that stands the camera, used it freely on me, himself and Michael Okechukwu Chinda.

They flogged me to their satisfaction, I didn't just utter a word until Hon. Ihunwo graciously asked me to run for my dear life because they have brought people with guns and of course when I looked at the gallery they were shouting who is the Chidi Lloyd? Who is the Chidi Lloyd? "So at that point, I'm sure somebody may have reached out to the governor of the state who came in with his own security because these other policemen were there standing helplessly, watching what was going on. So he came and rescued members out of the place.

"Then after a while we heard that they had sat, that they were meeting, they were trying to meet, they had procured a fake mace to the House, so we went back and I took the mace where they were sitting, then I sustained injury as a result of the violence by Michael Chinda and Evans Bipi.

"So, while I was in the hospital, the Speaker and other members of the House sat and heard the amendment that the governor sent, which was presented on his behalf by the deputy governor.

Now these amendments are that the governor said he was just seeking for us to vary some subheads for him to enable him take care of certain unforeseen events such as flood and all that.

"That is why we went to work for the state only to be dealt with in the manner that they have dealt with us. I want to use this opportunity while in the hospital here, I have received phone calls of threats to life of my family and I.

"Incidentally, I'm so helpless, I don't know who to run to. I can't go to the commissioner of police because he is already in the arena; he's already on the other side. I'm appealing to well-meaning Nigerians to pray for me and my family.

"That is the last hope we have resorted to and that we also urge the National Assembly, the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Reps not to turn the other way on the events of Rivers State. "This could lead to something that we cannot imagine.

It had happened in Anambra State, people were laughing, today is Rivers State nobody knows the next state it would be.

"If we are practising a democracy, let us please cry out loud play by the rules. Nigerians should pray for me and come to our aid. The state is under siege. "You can't even vouch for the safety of the governor."

Meanwhile, the senator representing Rivers South- East, Magnus Abe, has described the attack on the Speaker under the watch of the police as a shame and slap on democracy.

He has, therefore, charged lovers of democracy and Nigerians to condemn the dastardly and barbaric act and resist the moves by those under democratic oath to make the state ungovernable.

The Senate Committee Chairman on Petroleum (Downstream) wondered the kind of democracy being practiced in Nigeria if democratic institutions and those elected to make laws could not be protected.

Abe insisted that plans to throw the state into anarchy would not succeed and urged well-meaning people to stand by Amaechi whom he said was being persecuted for defending the state.

National Mirror

[Folami David]

They need to learn how to sort out issues within themeselves before it gets to the public....That aspect of them has to change.