by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr.
James Manu
Speaking exclusively to Saturday
Vanguard, the Chief Press Secretary to
Governor David Jonah Jang, Mr. James
Manu said that the Governor reconciles
the parties in the Forum. He said:
“Well, you need to appreciate it, first
and foremost, from the background that
he never looked for it.
It was the dynamics of the unfolding
situation that threw him up as a
candidate, which you were very much
aware starting from the Northern
Governors’ Forum and was endorsed by the
PDP platform.
He is a person that believes that there
are times you need to take up certain
challenges when they beckon at you and
you see it face-to-face. And one thing
is clear; Governor Jang is not a man
that is afraid of challenges. And of
course, for the respect for his
colleagues who saw something in him and
trusted him, he accepted the challenge
because he strongly believes in the
platform. If it means offering himself
as a rallying point for the platform,
He was not like the other Governors who
turned down the offer. That’s why I said
that there were scenarios that played
out.
There were two candidates down and so,
he was picked to serve as a consensus
candidate out of the two others. So, you
can see the scenarios that came. It was
not like he offered himself. It was the
same meeting that decided that since the
two people were there, lets come out
with somebody that will be a consensus
candidate.
Will he seek reconciliation of
factions?
“Top on his bill is reconciliation and
he has said it that he is ready to work
with everybody. He believes that
whatever is happening is a family matter
and it is not beyond them as governors
to settle and he has stated his resolve
and commitment to go all out to make
sure that he brings the Forum together,
brings up unity and integrity and true
bonding.
Setting up a new secretariat
“I don’t know what you are saying in
terms of factions. One thing they have
said in their inaugural meeting was that
they were going to establish a
secretariat. And if I may ask, do you
know where Nigeria Governors Secretariat
is? I would rather you see it in the
sense that Governor Jang in his
leadership qualities has seen the need
to have an independent secretariat
for every Governor to have a home.”
Amaechi’s Suspension by the PDP
Amaechi’s problems were far from being
over even after the NGF election. As if
the Presidency and the ruling PDP had
many scenes in the drama, barely two
days after the election, PDP suspended
Governor
Amaechi. The reason for his suspension
was hinged on his failure to reinstate
the executive of Obio/Akpor Local
Government Council.
In quick succession, the party announced
the inauguration of 11- member Committee
headed by Chief Joe Gadzama (SAN), to
probe Amaechi. Hear the PDP National
Publicity Secretary, Oliseh Metu over
the suspension: “The National Working
Committee at its emergency meeting on
Monday, May 27, 2013 considered the
petition submitted by the PDP Rivers
Executive Committee against His
Excellency, Rt Hon. Chibuike Rotimi
Amaechi, the Executive Governor of
Rivers State for violating Articles 58 1
(b), (c ), (h) and (m) of the PDP
Constitution following his refusal to
obey the lawful directive of the Rivers
State Executive Committee to rescind his
decision dissolving the elected
Executive Council of Obio/Akpor Local
Government Area of Rivers State.
“The National Working Committee after
preliminary hearing, in exercise of the
powers conferred by Articles 57 (3), 59
(3), 59 (5) and 29 (2.b), hereby
suspends the Executive Governor of
Rivers State, Rt Hon. Chibuike Rotimi
Amaechi as a member of the PDP and
refers the matter to the appropriate
disciplinary committee of the party.
“This is in furtherance of the
determination of the leadership of the
party to enforce discipline at all
levels within the party.”
Amaechi’s reaction to his re-
election and suspension from the
PDP
In a confab with the youth of Rivers
State on Monday on a theme
“Consolidating on Rivers of our Dreams”
which took place at the Banquet Hall of
Government House, Port Harcourt, Amaechi
said by God’s Grace, he will pull
through all the hurdles.
“The way these people at the federal
level are desperate, they may come after
my life. So when you pray, remember to
pray for me to remain alive.Who has
power to suspend Obio/Akpor council? Now
you see political witch-hunting; it is
so ridiculous, my party must rise above
political witch-hunting. The Governor
did not suspend Obio/Akpor council, I
hope you know.
My power is to dissolve and remit it to
the House of Assembly, but I have not
done that yet, what the Assembly has
said is ‘we are investigating
corruption’ then the party says we
should not investigate corruption, is
that fair? I was not invited by the
National Working Committee of PDP; I was
not given fair hearing.
“What I heard was, ‘why did I refuse to
reinstate the suspended Obio/Akpor
Council executive? Who suspended them?’
His question received the enthusiastic
response of the youths who chorused:
“The Rivers State House of Assembly.”
Again the governor asked, ‘who has the
power to investigate Obio/Akpor council
executive?”. The youths again replied:
“The State Assembly.”
“If they are not guilty, then, they will
re-instate them, but if they are guilty,
then we will ask for the dissolution of
the council. We have not even gone
half, and the party (PDP) says re-
instate them. It means that the party
likes corruption. Let the Assembly
resume and commence investigation, let’s
see what goes on. Whether there is
corruption or not, it is the business of
the Assembly.
I have been a Speaker, and I know the
powers of a Speaker and the
legislature. I used it when I was a
Speaker. “What is the police still doing
at the Obio/Akpor Council building? The
court gave an order to the Police to
vacate Obio/Akpor Council, they
disobeyed, and the police are still
stationed there.
The Federal Government does not care,
they only stationed police at Obio/Akpor
council, even if everybody dies, they
don’t care. Now, the whole state will
be grounded, because the police have
refused to vacate the Obio/Akpor Council
Secretariat.
“They don’t want to know, we are not
important to the federal government, we
are not important at all. “You know what
it took for us to stop militancy in the
state. But only last week, they now
organized militants to return to the
streets of Port Harcourt, is that not
shameful? You all know how the militants
spent our money, raped our women, killed
our parents and young men. Immediately
the militants stopped protesting, the
police said, nobody should protest
again.
“Internal democracy is important in our
party, they fought me with everything,
and I still won the Nigeria Governors’
Forum election, what should they do?
They should have joined me to thank God.
Because what it means is that God has
spoken. It happened when I was in
Ghana, I fasted and prayed for six
months, 6am to 6pm, and God made me
Governor. “I will not leave the PDP. I
will go to court.”
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