Rivers State House of Assembly embassy sealed by police - Copyright : Iyalla Adaye
There was a serious brawl Tuesday at the Rivers state House of Assembly as factions in the on-going war in the control of the Assembly engaged each other in physical combat with three of them reportedly hospitalized.
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Those said to have been sent to hospital include leader of the house, Chidi Lloyd, Mike Okey Chindah Martins Amaewhule the last two being members of the five anti-Amaechi lawmakers.
The author of this report gathered that the five members of the House, believed to be loyal to the minister of state for Education, Nyesom Wike, had sat in the chambers of the House and announced the impeachment of the Speaker as at 9.00 am in the morning ‘electing’ Evans Bibi, spokesman of the group to take over the seat of the Speaker.
Fight ensued when Bipi and Victor Ihunwo, another member of the anti-Amaechi legislators attacked Chidi Lloyd with video camera stands, and in the process damaged over 30 computer sets in the chambers of the House.
It was also observed that men of the State Police Command, drafted to protect the assembly did nothing to prevent the free-for-all, just as men of the State Fire Service were drafted into the complex, so as to take care of any attempt to burn down the complex.
In the ensuing fracas, the Speaker, Amaechree, the leader of the House, Hon. Chidi Lloyd and the two members representing Obio/Akpor 1 and Obio/Akpor 11 constituencies, Hon. Micheal Okechukwu Chinda and Hon. Martins Amaewhule were seriously injured.
While Amachree, Lloyd, and Amaewhule were rushed to an undisclosed hospital, treated, and discharged, Chinda, as at press time was still responding to treatment at Saint Patrick’s Hospital, located in the Ogbunabali area of Port Harcourt
The House leadership later returned to the house in company of the state governor, Rotimi Amaechi and the Deputy Tele Ikuru to present a request to the house for some minor amendments on the 2013 budget.
Chidi Lloyd – photo by Iyalla Adaye
Speaking while presenting the request on the floor of the House, Ikuru said the minor amendment became necessary so as to enable the state government continue to deliver dividends of democracy to the people of the state.
He stated that the minor amendment, if approved would not reduce or increase N490,220 million budgeted in the 2013 appropriation act, but will only affect the capital expenditure of the budget.
Reacting to the earlier incident, Otelemaba Dan-Amachree told journalist that there was nothing like an impeachment insisting he was still the Speaker of the House.
“As far as this House is concerned, the leadership of the House has not changed. I’ m the Speaker of Rivers State House of assembly and all the other officers and the clerk are here with me. The leadership of the House is intact and what Evans Bipi told you is pure fallacy, lie”
On the main target of the whole impeachment saga being governor Amaechi, Amachree said “I don’t know where this rumour is coming from, but we just finished our sitting. There was no attempt as far as we are concerned to impeach me or anybody. We are even shocked to hear that in the news. It is not true.
Look at us; can five members sit to impeach the speaker? We are about 27 members here. We don’t know what their aims were but today, in fact, we did not know there would be chaos in the House. So, we went to the House as usual and we were exchanging pleasantries before Evans Bipi attacked me and the leader of the House. Then Hon. Chinda joined him. But we quickly arrested the situation and started our deliberation”.
He denied the allegation that the Governor was at the assembly saying “How? How can. The governor was never in the Assembly. What happened was that the deputy Governor came to the House to present some minor amendments (viament) in 2013 Budget. If you watch our proceedings you will see the deputy governor and not the governor. So, the governor was not there.
The speaker also expressed disappointment with the role of Police at the assembly noting that despite his application for extra security to the Commissioner of police and Brigade Commander there was no security beaf-up at the assembly.
He said “Am so surprised and shocked because yesterday I officially directed the clerk of the House to the Commissioner of Police for security because of what happened on the 6th of May when some hoodlums invaded the Assembly. We didn’t want a repeat of that, so I directed the Clerk to write to the CP and also the Brigade Commander, but to my greatest surprise I did not see one single army there (Assembly).
The police I saw were acting funny. One of my colleagues was even beaten by the police. The computers in the hallowed chambers were all destroyed by the five honourable members (lawmakers). In that hallowed chamber, honourable members can do anything there. It happens in every parliament.
What we are concerned about is for a member to bring in hoodlums to attack his fellow members, but as colleagues we can fight in the chamber. But outside the chamber, it is unfortunate that the police will also be there and watching hoodlums attacking members.
As a House, we would look into it, but we don’t have right over the Police. What we will do is that we will write to the National Assembly. We will do a presentation or we will send a formal complaint to the NASS.
The House will continue to seat, but for now we have adjourned sine die, but we can reconvene anytime. For the House to impeach the speaker, two third of members must agree. Now, count how many members that are with me here. We are 23 members here, you can count us. No mace was brought into the House”.
Also 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, 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.
We went in as members who have not seen ourselves for some time 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 on camera and started raining punches on me. 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 when that continued, 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, and 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, was presented on his behalf by the deputy governor. Now these amendments are, the governor said he was just seeking for us to via some sub heads 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 threat to life for 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 practicing a democracy, let us please for crying 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. The people are getting more dashed out on a daily basis.
Also Speaking the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. David Iyofor in an interview said the lawmakers will continue to sit under the Leadership of Rt. Hon. Otelemaba Dan Amachree
David added that members cannot impeach the Speaker through the House saying as the House reconvene stressing that the Deputy Governor Engineer Ikuru Tele who represented the governor, Rotimi Amaechi and presented the amendment bill to the House.
Our guest is an independent journalist from the Niger Delta region in Nigeria. He attended the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ) in Lagos and the Empire Journalism Centre in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, and has worked with several local and national newspapers. He is a member of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria Rivers State Council, FTAN, Tourism Reporters, and Niger Delta Universal Periodic review and Nigeria Media Network on Human Rights. He plans to practice journalism to its fullest.
Please read his other Niger Delta News articles.
Signature : Iyalla Adaye
Copyright : Iyalla Adaye
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