Fubara demolishes Rivers Assembly Complex, presents N800bn 2024 budget to 5 lawmakers in govt house

Emmanuel Nlewedum, Port Harcourt and Cyril Mbah, Abuja.

 Rivers State, Governor Siminalayi Fubara on Wednesday, presented a N800bn appropriation bill to the House of Assembly as a proposed budget for the 2024 fiscal year.

The budget was tagged, “Budget of Renewed Hope, Consolidation and Continuity was approved during the 5th State Executive Council presided over by the Governor.

 

The council disclosed that N412bn was projected for capital expenditure, while recurrent expenditure has N361bn and N21b as reserve.

 

Governor Fubara presented the budget during plenary at a temporary assembly complex inside the Government House, under the speakership of Rt. Hon. Edison Ehie and four other members of the Assembly loyal to him.

 

The Governor was accompanied by the Secretary to the State Government, Tammy Danagogo, Commissioner for Finance, Isaac Kamalu, the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Joseph Johnson, and other members of his cabinet.

 

Earlier, before the arrival of the governor, Speaker of the Assembly, Rt. Hon. Edison Ehie during the Wednesday proceedings, had declared the seat of the 25 lawmakers that defected to APC vacant.

 

Recall that 27 of 32 members of the Assembly loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and former governor of the state, Nyesom Wike had on Monday dumped the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP for the All Progressives Congress, APC.

 

Edison Ehie said the action of the lawmakers was in gross violation of the 1999 constitution.

 

He said the House will communicate the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on the development and possible filling of the vacant seats.

 

The Speaker also urged Governor Fubara to set up a judicial panel of inquiry to investigate the burning of the Hallowed chamber of the now demolished Rivers State House of Assembly complex.

 

The pro-Wike lawmakers were absent at the budget presentation by the governor.

 

However, The Rivers State Government has explained why it embarked on the demolition of the State House of Assembly complex.

 

Daily Champion reports that the Assembly complex is currently being demolished by the Rivers State Government to begin renovation work on the complex which was few weeks ago gutted by fire.

 

Recall that the Assembly complex was on Sunday 29 October, 2023 set ablaze by yet to be identified arsonist.

 

Since then, the assembly has been rocked by crisis which saw some members of the House move to impeach the governor. The crisis later gave birth to the emergence of two Speakers and the defection of 27 members from the PDP to the APC.

 

The Rivers State Commissioner for Information Mr Joseph Johnson in a statement sent to newsmen in Port Harcourt said the demolition of the Rivers State House of Assembly complex was as a result of the blast at the hallowed chambers of the House.

 

The Commissioner said the dynamite explosive that was used to attack the Assembly complex shook the building to it’s foundation, hence the decision to demolish the complex and rebuild it.

 

His words, “The decision to demolish and rebuild the Rivers State House of Assembly Complex was due to the structural defects which arose mainly as a result of the recent explosion and fire incident which rendered the main building unfit for human use.

 

“After the visit of the Governor to inspect the level of damage done to the building on the day of the fire incident, it became necessary to invite professionals to advice the government on the integrity of the building.

 

“There were visible cracks on the walls afterwards, and the entire structure looked frail and unsafe for legislative business. After the assessment of the integrity of the complex, the experts warned the government that continuing to use the building in its present state would be disastrous”, he said,

 

Mr. Johnson noted that the government had tried all cost saving measures towards repair of the complex until it bowed to superior view of rebuilding the complex to a more befitting edifice.

 

He disclosed that an alternative venue for the House of Assembly to conduct their affairs pending the rebuilding of the complex has been provided by the government.

 

.Don’t interfere in Rivers, Ondo politics, APC chieftain urges Tinubu

 

Meanwhile, the Erstwhile Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Yekini Nabena, has urged President Bola Tinubu not to interfere in the political tension between the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and his estranged godson, Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State.

 

Nabena, who was Secretary of Bayelsa APC Media and Publicity Committee, further urged the President not to take sides in the political power play going on in Ondo State politics.

 

The APC chieftain’s warning comes in the wake of Wednesday’s demolition of Rivers State House of Assembly quarters after the defection of 27 of the 32-lawmakers to the APC.

 

The PUNCH had earlier reported that a High Court sitting in Port Harcourt ordered a factional Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Edison Ehie to preside over the activities of the legislative arm of the state pending the determination of a motion before it.

 

The court also stopped lawmakers allegedly loyal to Wike from using the assembly premises following the directive of Fubara that the facility was under renovation.

 

Ailing Ondo Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, on the other hand has transmitted a letter to the state House of Assembly to notify them that he has handed over power to his deputy, Lucy Aiyedatiwa, as the acting governor.

 

Akeredolu is due to return to Germany to continue his medical treatment following months of political rancour between his allies and the embattled deputy governor.

 

 

Reacting to the development via a statement on Wednesday in Abuja, Nabena urged Tinubu and the ruling APC to respect the constitution of Nigeria and allow Ondo and Rivers to sort out their problems.

 

He said, “President Tinubu who believe in the political or social equality of all people and practice the principle of equality of rights must not play politics with Rivers and Ondo states. The constitution of our nation must be recognised and respected at this time in Rivers and Ondo states.

 

“The All Progressives Congress should also look into the party constitution carefully, bearing in mind that the National Working Committee of our party does not have powers to dissolve an elected chairman and his executive in Rivers.

 

“We are democrats and not dictators in APC. So we should be mindful of our actions. The implications of this action in River state might be dangerous for our party in the near future if the right thing is not done quickly now, if not, what happened before in 2019 will happen again with litigations here and there.”

 

Rivers APC branch warns Fubara.

…As party HQ backs action.

The national leadership of the All Progressive Congress (APC) has  sent it’s solidarity and message of support to the Rivers State chapter, which has warned Governor Siminalayi Fubara to refrain from acts capable of escalating the political crisis in the state.

National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Barrister Felix Morka told newsmen that the party was solidly and completely behind the state Caretaker Committee Chairman, Tony Okocha, who recently warned the State Governor to retrace his steps and stop further actions that will heat up the political atmosphere in Port Harcourt.

Okocha was quoted to have been reacting to the exparte order granted to the factional Speaker of the House of Assembly, Mr Ediso Ehie, restraining two PDP lawmakers, Martin Amaewhule and Dumle Maol, from disobeying the order relocating the conduct of the assembly’s “activities and meetings” to a more secure place.

Amaewhule and Maol still lay claim to the Speakership and Deputy Speakership of the house and have since declared the seats of 27 house members who detected to APC as vacant.

The exparte order was granted by a Port Harcourt High Court, presided over by Justice M.W. Danagogo.

The order also restrained Amaewhule from “disrupting and interferring” with Ehie’s activities, pending the determination of the motion on notice.

The court also warned against the use of thugs and Police by Amaewhule to forcefully gain access into the premises of the state House of Assembly Complex.

The court ordered the relocation of the house “to a secure and more conducive environment to ensure that the activities and meetings of the house are not disrupted during the period of the renovation of the burnt building, pending the determination of the hearing of the motion already filed.”

Ehie has conducted the activities of the house in his capacity as speaker, outside the assembly complex, after it was torched on the night of October 29 and later demolished by the state governor..

However, the APC chairman decried Danagogo’s order recognising Ehie as the speaker, when judgment was reserved for January 2024 on a suit Ehie filed seeking to be recognised as speaker.

He said that granting an experte order on the same case that judgment had been reserved was an abuse of court processes.

Okocha said that APC would not sit and watch the experte order executed, alleging that the order was made in clear violation of known principles of law and disobedience of the National Judicial Council (NJC) law.

According to him, the fear of the massive defection of 27 of the 31 PDP lawmakers to APC led to the procurement of an experte order to enable the governor to present his 2024 budget estimates to the assembly.

He wondered how three remaining members of the house, plus Ehie, would legitimately receive the 2024 Appropriation Bill.

Okocha said that the party would be left with no option than to petition the NJC, if the judge did not reverse himself, immediately.

He said that the state APC would not tolerate any intimidation and harassment of its new members in any form.

He justified the December 11 defection of the PDP members to APC on “irreconcilable crisis in the PDP,” saying that the action was supported by a section of the country’s Constitution.

 

Ijaw people angry with Tinubu gov’t over Rivers crisis – Asari Dokubo

 

Also, Former Niger Delta militant leader, Alhaji Mujaheed Asari Dokubo said the people of Ijaw are angry with President Bola Tinubu-led federal government over the ongoing political crisis in Rivers State.

Dokubo attacks Tinubu, describes his govt as worst ever

 

He expressed dissatisfaction  with the federal government led by President Bola Tinubu describing, it as the worst ever.

He said some Niger Delta people, particularly the Ijaw ethnic group, are already angered by the current government.

Dokubo was seen expressing his anger and dissatisfaction In a viral video clip released on Wednesday.

Recall that during the 2023 general election campaign, Dokubo was a staunch supporter of Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress, APC.

He expressed regret that he had earlier assured the Ijaw people that the government would perform well, but the present situation has shown that the Tinubu administration is a nightmare for the Ijaw people.

Dokubo believes that the political crisis in Rivers State is a litmus test for President Tinubu’s administration.

He suggested that if there will be any consequences of the alleged bad governance, it would begin in Rivers State.

“This is the worst government. Ijaw people feel this is the worst government. This is a nightmare for them,” Asari emphasized.

He also mentioned that he cannot stop the people’s discontent and that Rivers State might be the starting point of any potential unrest.