RIVERS CRISIS :SEKIBO, OMEHIA, AWUSE, OTHERS PLAN PDP RETURN

The noose around the Rivers
State governor, Rotimi Amaechi, is being tightened every minute as it emerged
during the week that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leadership had
concluded plans to re-admit into its fold, the likes of the former 2011
governorship candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the state,
Dr. Abiye Sekibo and few others who left the party for political reasons.

Apart from Sekibo, also likely to return to the PDP include the
former six-month governor of the state and governorship candidate of All
Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), Sir Celestine Omehia, and one time Rivers
State All Peoples Party (APP) governorship candidate, Sergeant Awuse.

Sunday Independent got it on
good authority that they are to return to the PDP’s fold any moment from now.

Sunday Independent also
gathered that the stage is now set for the foot soldiers of the former governor
of the state, Dr. Peter Odili to regain the political soul of the state six
years after they left the mainstream of the state’s politics.

A credible source within the hierarchy of the PDP hinted that the
just inaugurated reconciliation committee set up by the Felix Obuah-led
executive council of the party made entreaties to the aggrieved former PDP
members to see reason in returning to the fold.

In line with the promise of Obuah “all those who left the party in
anger or for whatever reason best known to them, are ready to return,” the
source said.

Speaking further, the source noted that in the next “two weeks
Abiye and other stakeholders who left the party and joined the opposition will
declare their return back home. PDP in Rivers State will become stronger than
it was before now.

“Everybody will have reason to be proud to belong to PDP in Rivers
State. It will be stronger. It will better. Imagine having heavy weights like Sekibo,
Omehia, (Sergeant) Awuse and many others coming back to the party. It means
that opposition will no more have anywhere to hide here,” he added.

It would be recalled that before the end of his first tenure,
Amaechi set up a reconciliation committee which was headed by the former Deputy
Speaker House of Representatives, Austin Opara.

Not much was heard about the committee soon after it was set up.
But the recent committee by the Obuah-led leadership is saddled with the
responsibility of winning the heart of the aggrieved members and bringing them
back to the party.

The source equally hinted that Odili who has been left in the
political oblivion after eight years of holding forth as governor, is set to
bounce back to reckoning by associating with the likes of Sekibo and his key
“loyalists” after falling out with his political god son, Amaechi.

Meanwhile, rights activist and renowned public advocate, Prof.
Itse Sagay (SAN), has condemned the serial attacks and attempted intimidation
of Amaechi, calling it “a major assault in Nigeria’s so-called democracy.”

Sagay stated that the recent events in Rivers State have shown
that there really is no democracy or federalism in Nigeria.

He said: “The sorts of events that have been occurring recently in
Rivers State have a threatening and intimidating effect and are unworthy of any
society governed by the rule of law. When any Nigerian is threatened and his
environment surrounded by the sort of dark clouds and storms being witnessed in
Rivers State, it is democracy and democratic rights in the whole country that
is endangered.”

Sagay in his statement entitled: The
gathering storm over Rivers, said
the series of unfortunate events in Rivers State since newspaper publications
surfaced that Amaechi is rumoured to be aspiring to be a Vice presidential
candidate to a Northern presidential aspirant is “most disturbing, ominous and
dangerous.”

“Whether this rumoured ambition is true or not, it is totally
irrelevant. The truth is that every Nigerian over the age of 40 is entitled to
aspire to be President or Vice President of Nigeria. This constitutional
entitlement is not in any way qualified by the party or zonal relationship
between an incumbent president and the aspirant.

“Any Nigerian, more so, a high official like a governor, is
entitled to have presidential ambition. It is his constitutional and democratic
right. To lay a siege on him and his state because of rumours of Vice
Presidential interest is a major assault in our so-called democracy.”

Sagay noted with dismay the disturbing occurrences in Rivers State
since the rumours surfaced. This he said include: “The grounding of the
official private jet of the Rivers State Government, intended apparently to
cripple the Rivers State governor’s movements around the country; prevention by
police of the State House of Assembly from functioning; escorting five
suspended members of the House of Assembly accompanied by hoodlums masquerading
as protesters by the police with the apparent intention of initiating
impeachment action; prevention of the Caretaker Committee of a Local Government
Council from functioning; the withdrawal of the security details of the Speaker
of the State House of Assembly; and the threatened withdrawal of the security
details of the governor himself.

“The above developments have demonstrated the fact that Nigeria is
not a federation, but merely a unitary state pretending to be one.”

He clarified that, in a federation, both the Federal Government
and the federating units are autonomous and independent to each other.

This brings back to the fore the continued agitation for state
police. According to Sagay, from “what has been happening in recent weeks in
Rivers State, it is clear that if every state has its own Police Service, there
will be no need for the federal police to provide security for state
authorities and agencies. Therefore to the extent that states do not have their
own police forces, our federalism remains incomplete and under developed.”

He called on the National Assembly to re-evaluate and consider a
lot of things in its attempt to amend the constitution for a true Federal
Republic of Nigeria.

“It is now obvious that there is need to look at our
constitutional provisions in order to re-structure them for the achievement of
true federalism, in which states and their governors will be able to assert
their autonomy and independence from the Federal Government. The current events
in Rivers State are ominous and do not portend well for the future of the
Federal Republic,” he said.

Sagay spoke as the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC)
Rivers State, the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) Rivers State and the
Joint Public Service Negotiating Council (JPSNC) have met to appraise the
judgment of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt presided by Justice H.A.
Nganjiwa whereby the judge ordered the Nigeria Police Force to vacate the
premises of Obio /Akpor Council Secretariat.

Consequent upon this judgment, the organised labour in the state
on Saturday directed that “all workers of Obio/Akpor should return back to work
immediately.”

The state labour made their position known in a brief communiqué
signed by Comrade Chris Oruge (NLC), Comrade Chika Onuegbu (TUC) and Comrade
Chuku Emecheta (JPSNC) respectively.

They said in line with the rule of law and the constitution of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria, “the Inspector General of Police and the
Commissioner of Police Rivers State command should immediately direct their men
to vacate the premises of Obio/Akpor Council Secretariat.”

Others include: “We appeal to the Local Government Council to pay
the workers for the period of the lock out by the Nigeria Police, Rivers State
Command. We took the position because the workers were ready to work, but were
prevented to go to their places of work by the Police.

“We advice the Nigeria Police Force, Rivers State Command to focus
on their constitutional duties of protecting lives and property, instead of
tacitly taking side on matters that are purely political.

“We call on workers in the state to remain calm and go about their
normal duties as NLC and TUC are closely monitoring the developments in Rivers
State.”