APC Govs: Police Action Against Amaechi, Threat to Democracy

Governor Chibuike Amaechi

By Chuks Okocha and Shola Oyeyipo in Dutse                                         
The incident on Thursday night in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, during which men of the Nigeria Police barred Governor Chibuike Amaechi from accessing the Government House through the private gate has been described as a threat to democracy by the Progressive Governors Forum.

Also friday, Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State described the blockade as treason, but the Peoples Democratic Party countered by alleging that Amaechi was distorting facts.

The forum made of the 11 governors of the All Progressives Party said in a statement yesterday that it received the news of the alleged blockade of the Rivers Governor House with “shock and disbelief.”

It said in its statement titled: Blockade to Rivers Government House: Assault on Constitutionalism and Descent to Anarchy: “Amaechi was as a result refused access to his own office in a manner that only translates to illegal takeover of Rivers State Government by the Police authorities and suspension of all relevant powers of the governor as the Chief Security Officer of the State as provided by the 1999 Nigerian Constitution. This action of the Rivers Police Command is an assault on constitutional rule and portends a descent to anarchy.

“Since July 2013, the situation in Rivers continues to constitute a major threat to our democracy. The inability of Federal Authorities to exercise all the necessary constitutional and moral authority to ensure speedy resolution of the crisis has remained a source of danger for our democracy and the life of Governor Amaechi and those of other public officers serving in the state. This is a bad precedent and we wonder if this is not a signal for a similar bloackade to be mounted against the President at the Presidential Villa."

Noting that a situation whereby the Federal Government would use powers vested in it under the constitution to bully and intimidate state governments was unacceptable and should be resisted by every democratic government, the governors said, "we view events of September 12 in Rivers as a direct affront on constitutional order in the country. We wish to unequivocally state our resolve to work with all democrats in the country to ensure adequate protection of democratic governance.”

The incident in Port Harcourt on Thursday night was also described as "treason" by Lamido. The Jigawa governor while speaking to journalists in Dutse expressed doubts over allegations that the police carried out the act, “but if they did, it amounted to treason.”

Said Lamido: "No, I don't believe it. It cannot be Nigeria Police. My worry is that today in Nigeria, hooligans or thugs or armed robbers can go to a Government House, disarm Police, take their arms, wear their uniforms and then abduct a governor. I don't think it is the Nigerian Police. But if it is indeed the Nigeria Police, then they know the consequences; what they did was treason.

"Honestly, whatever might have been the circumstances, that act will spell doom for Nigeria because it could have been a coup; because maybe those policemen who were there were fake ones; the genuine ones might have been taken and locked up somewhere and fake ones put there. It is possible."
Lamido however added that "whatever it was, it was treason"

Speaking further, he said, "under the constitution, there are very clear functions for the security forces and the police and maybe those who did that came from somewhere else. Maybe armed robbers who were able to disarm the police and locked them somewhere. That's my feeling. Because I do not see the Nigeria Police with clear understanding of their roles, dare do that kind of thing. No, I don't think so.”

In a related development, the Peoples Democratic Party yesterday warned Amaechi against “manipulate the press and distorting the facts in the crisis within the party to mislead Nigerians and create an impression that he was barred by the Police and the Federal Government from entering the Government House.”

According to a statement by PDP National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, "This distortion of facts is totally unacceptable and unbefitting of a state governor. It is indeed condemnable that Amaechi has continued to distort facts and interfere in the lawful activities of the police and security operatives ensuring law and order in Rivers State only to manipulate the media and portray himself as the victim."

PDP said that Amaechi was fully aware that based on the ruling of the courts, “the police had sealed off a secretariat illegally opened by some individuals under the name, flag and colour of the PDP, consequent upon which the route leading to the structure was also closed.”

The PDP added that “in Amaechi's usual defiance of law and order, he chose to take the same route accompanied by unauthorized persons who sought to beat security and access the sealed secretariat only for him to turn around to create a scene and distort facts so as to incite Nigerians against the police and the Federal Government.”

Also yesterday, the New PDP under Abubakar Baraje lamented what it described as the autocratic tendencies of the mainstream PDP, stating that the country was gradually degenerating into what it called the “dark days of Abacha.”

A statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary of the Baraje’s PDP, Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, traced the “return to undemocratic tendencies of the Jonathan’s administration” to the return of Amaechi as the chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and “the attempts by five members of the Rivers State House of Assembly to impeach the Speaker in a House of 32 members.”