By: Felix Ikpotor
The Rivers State Government has taken a swipe at the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the state over the call on the State House of Assembly to immediately begin impeachment proceedings against the governor of the state, Sir Siminalayi Fubara.
Commissioner for Information and Communications in the state, Joseph Johnson, while reacting to the call made by the APC said the 27 lawmakers in the State House of Assembly who are loyal to Federal Capital Terrority, FCT, minister, Nyesom Wike, lacked the locus standi to impeach the governor.
He warned the APC lawmakers against embarking on such a venture, stressing that any attempt to impeach the governor will be resisted by the Rivers people.
Caretaker Committee Chairman of the APC in Rivers State, Tony Okocha, had at a press conference in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, called on the State Assembly to quickly commence impeachment process against the governor.
Okocha stated that the impeachment was necessary because the governor “has insulted the sensibility” of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who waded in to resolve the lingering crisis in the state and committed other impeachable offences.
However, the Information and Communications Commissioner, in a quick response, said Okocha lacked the morality to talk about the state government, noting that Okocha was not a legitimate member of the APC.
Johnson said attempts to impeach the governor would not be an easy journey, noting that the people of the state would resist such moves with their blood.
He said, “It is not going to be an easy journey. They should not imagine embarking on it because Rivers people will resist them. Rivers people will resist them because it is even baseless to think of it. They are not fighting with legitimacy; they are only fighting for their own survival. On what plank will you put that? The law says you can’t put legality on illegality.
“As far as we are concerned, they do not even have the locus standi to do that. They should not even bother to start it because Section 109(g) has settled the case. It says if an Assembly member defects from his own party that brought him to power, you automatically lose his seat. They have done that, and it is settled. Our Constitution is the grand norm.
“The court, the Supreme Court, is there to look at these elementary issues. There is also a subsisting judgement on this, so we don’t need a second opinion on whether we should respect them as Assembly members or not. The Supreme Court has already declared those seats vacant.
“Tony Okocha was just yesterday declared as not being a member of APC by a former chairman of the party, Sokonte Davies. He is a factional chairman. We want the faction led by Chief Emeka Beke to say the same thing. Okocha is standing on one leg. His call is an empty call. His advice to impeach the governor is a journey that leads nowhere, and they will not succeed. The lawmakers are not existent, and they are not seen in law.”
