POLITICS: How Governor Amaechi Will Be Impeached By Some Political Chauvinists

 

Despite his defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC), it seems the politi­cal battles of Rivers State Governor, Hon. Chibuike Amaechi, is not over, as there is a fresh plot to remove him from office through impeachment.

Sources revealed that with a

serving minister as the arrowhead in the ‘Op­eration Remove Amaechi,’ the plan is to use the six lawmakers of the state House of Assembly, who are members of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to execute the impeachment.

The plan is for the six lawmakers, who are currently opposed to Gov­ernor Amaechi and have refused to participate in the sittings of the major­ity 25 others, who are members of the APC like the governor, to convene a sitting of the House, with Evans Bipi presiding as the Speaker.

At that sitting, it was gathered, one of them would move a motion for the suspension of the other 25 APC mem­bers, after which they would proceed with the impeachment of Governor Amaechi.

Sources close to the plotters re­vealed that with the appointment of Justice Daisy Okocha as administra­tive Chief Judge of the state by the National Judicial Council (NJC), it would be easy for the six lawmakers to get a panel, which will investigate the offences to be listed against Amae­chi, as the Constitution specifies.

The Rivers State Government had rejected Justice Okocha as the administrative Chief Judge, following the controversy on her appointment. A Federal High Court had rejected Amaechi’s appointment of Justice Peter Agumagu as Acting Chief Judge.

In the court’s ruling, the presid­ing judge, Justice Lambo Akanbi, described the controversy surrounding the appointment of an acting chief judge in Rivers State as needless, adding that the 1999 Constitution was explicit on matter.

The court stated: “The question as to who qualifies to be appointed as acting Chief Judge of the state has generated a lot of needless controver­sy. The provision of Section 271, sub-section 4 of the Constitution is very clear, explicit and without ambiguity. It says the governor shall appoint the most senior judge of the High Court.

“I have evidence before me unchallenged that his Lordship, my Lord, the Honourable Justice P.N.C Agumagu is a judge and indeed, the President of the Customary Court of Appeal of Rivers State. The inevitable conclusion I have reached is that His Lordship, the Honourable Justice P.N.C. Agumagu, is not qualified as a state High Court judge, hence, he is not suitable and unqualified to be appointed as Acting Chief Judge of the High Court of Rivers State.

“The only consequential order I should make in the circumstance is to direct the governor to comply with the constitutional provision on the ap­pointment of an Acting Chief Judge of the state High Court as provided under Section 271, sub-section 4 of the 1999 Constitution. That shall be the judg­ment of the court.”

When contacted of the fresh plot to remove Amaechi from office, some officials in the state government, who pleaded anonymity, confirmed that they were aware of the plot.

One of them stated: “They are hell bent on removing Governor Amae­chi for reasons best known to them. This is not the first time or the second time they have plotted to remove our governor, albeit illegally. Their plot is illegal, unconstitutional.

“In a legislature of 31 members, six cannot sit in someone’s private sitting room and claim to have impeached a governor. That is impunity. This is a democracy. They should be careful not to truncate our democracy with all these reckless acts.”

Governor Amaechi has been em­battled for some time now. He was suspended from the Peoples Demo­cratic Party (PDP), after he went to court in protest of the dissolution of the state executives of the party and the recognition of another exco by the then Alhaji Bamanga Tukur-led PDP.

The crisis that engulfed the PDP in Rivers State had led to a violent clash in the House of Assembly, leading to the physical injury of some lawmak­ers.

The state also witnessed mass pro­test by people against and for Gover­nor Amaechi.

The governor defected to the APC last year, with four other governors that had been elected on the platform of the PDP. They are: Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto), Murtala Nyako (Adamawa), Abdulfatah Ahmed (Kwara) and Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano).