DAPO FALADE provides an incisive account of some emerging political intrigues and trends in Rivers State, as the 2015 elections beckon. Unarguably, Rivers State will be the cynosure of all eyes in the build up to the 2015 elections across the country. Indeed, the stakes are very high in the state known with the appellation, Rivers of possibilities. While not leaving out political parties, the battle for the soul of the state is majorly between two stakeholders namely, the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration, led by Governor Chubuike Rotimi Amaechi and the once ruling party in the state, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). What will make the Rivers case more interesting is the undercurrents over who is really in charge of the state, politically speaking. There has been a protracted war between Amaechi and the PDP leadership, even beyond the state. To all intents and purposes, the governor had dared to walk where the mighty trembled with his seeming unrepentant stand against the power of the Presidency and President Goodluck Jonathan. Undoubtedly, the 2015 elections will clearly signpost who is in control in the state to wit, the Jonathan-led PDP and his foot soldiers or the APC under the leadership of Amaechi. To some critics, this is not the best of times for Governor Amaechi. About eight months away from the completion of his second term tenure, the man who has been enjoying the political limelight for an uninterrupted 15 years, first as a two-term Speaker of the state House of Assembly and later, as the state’s helmsman for an upward of seven years now, has been locked in a battle of wit with some political forces in the state over what some consider as continued relevance after 2015. Before his departure to the APC in 2013, Amaechi held sway as a PDP member, controlling the powerful and undivided Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF). However, in the heat of the face-off between him and wife of the president, Dame Patience Jonathan (and, by extension, President Jonathan himself), the governor defected to the APC. His action was sequel to the controversies generated over the election of a new chairman for the NGF. Amaechi eventually retained his seat as the chairman of the forum and what transpired thereafter is in the realm of the public domain. Since he left for the APC, Amaechi has been professing his adherence to democratic ethos and progressivism. Besides, the governor has remained an ardent and bitter critic of his former political party. Unsparing in his criticism, Amaechi, the PDP and most of its leaders are evil that should be uprooted as a panacea for the ills and myriads of problem facing the country. Registering as an APC member during the registration exercise of the party, in February, Amaechi said the APC was on a mission to save both the state and the county from the PDP, having ‘ruined’ the country for the number of years it had been in power. “From what you can see, the APC is the fastest growing party in Africa. All these people you are seeing here were once members of the PDP. Today, they joined me in formally moving to the APC and the reason for moving to the party is that we are on a rescue mission. We are here to rescue Nigeria. We can’t continue (like this). Look at this crowd you are seeing here, 80 per cent of them are unemployed and so when they say the PDP will save Nigeria, we ask the question, ‘who has been holding Nigeria for the past how many years?’ It is PDP. So, they can’t be saving Nigeria from themselves”, Amaechi said then. Also speaking in an interview last April, the governor could not hide his disdain for the PDP, as he said he was through with it, vowing that nothing would ever make him return to the party again. The governor’s declaration was a response to a statement by the Supervising Minister of Education, Chief Eyesom Wike, to the effect that he was planning to return to PDP. Wike was reported to have said that Amaechi was desperate to return to PDP, allegedly through the back door. “No, I am not returning to the PDP... I have told them; they have approached me, if they want, I will call (mention) the names of those that approached me. But that is not an issue.” President Jonathan has also remained a consistent focal point of attacks from Amaechi who, at any available opportunity, blames the president for national problems, especially lack of respect for the rule of law, retarded economic growth, dilapidating infrastructure, corruption, hunger, poverty and unemployment, insecurity, as heightened by the Boko Haram insurgency, among others. He had variously accused Jonathan of victimising and punishing whoever dared to stand against corruption, alleging that what was happening in the polity was the re-emergence of civilian dictatorship. Speaking at a recent forum, the governor, among others, alleged that, “Currently in the present regime of President Goodluck Jonathan, corruption appears to have been institutionalised. A whopping sum of $20 billion dollars is alleged to have been missing. The stories of both fuel and kerosene subsidy are not anything to behold; it smears of corruption and rottenness. The aviation bulletproof saga remains unresolved. The Shell Malabu story is a macabre dance.” Bent on asserting his authority in the state, Amaechi has been evolving some pragmatic policies that often caught his political adversaries unaware and napping. This has been exemplified by the ongoing brouhaha over the appointment of a substantive chief judge for the state judiciary. Even when the National Judicial Council (NJC) refused to recognise the governor’s preferred candidate, Justice Peter Agumagu, as the acting chief judge, Amaechi went ahead to seek the screening and clearance of the state House of Assembly of the judge and eventually swore him in as the substantive state Chief Judge. However, the judicial regulatory body kicked and early this month, appointed its own preference, Justice Daisy Okocha, as the administrative chief judge of the state. While the battle of wits continues over the issue, Amaechi played another fast one on the NJC as he, early this month, signed into law a bill by a state lawmaker, Honourable Golden Chioma. The bill, Rivers State High Court (Amendment) Law, No 1 of 2014 and passed by the lawmakers, is an amendment of the state’s High Court Law, 2001. The amendment, Section 40 (2), empowered the state High Court Chief Registrar to assign cases to any judge and perform other administrative duties until an acting chief judge or a chief judge is appointed. The governor and the state legislature, largely dominated by his loyalists, justified the amendment on the grounds that it was a constitutional duty of the state legislature and that it was a genuine intention aimed at breaking the logjam and stalemate generated in the state judiciary over the non-appointment of either a substantive chief judge or an acting chief judge. However, the PDP and some other stakeholders, including the state branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), roundly condemned the governor’s action. They averred that the governor, by his action, would only bring the judiciary into further disrepute. To his critics, Amaechi was simply elevating political expediency and his quest for survival far above constitutionality. This argument, according to some pundits, appeared plausible, in view of the fact that Amaechi was doing everything possible to stop the confirmation of Justice Okocha, said to be his avowed ‘enemy’, as the state chief judge. More importantly, and in continuation of the battle of wits, the governor has promised to do everything humanly possible to thwart all efforts by PDP and its leaders to take over the reins of government in the state after his exit from the seat of power in 2015. Towards this end, he had been more vociferous in building up resentments against the possible emergence of any candidate from his Ikwerre ethnic clan that may aspire to the governorship seat. In the midst of all these, Amaechi is not alone in the battle for survival and continued political relevance beyond 2015. Without any iota of doubt, his defection from the PDP to APC has greatly altered the existing political calculations in the state. Since the advent of this present political dispensation, Rivers State has, predominantly, been a PDP state. The norms, from then till now, is that whoever PDP picked as its standard-bearer for any of the elective offices is presumed to be the winner, even before the election is conducted. However, with the defection of Amaechi and the resultant taking over of all government structures by the APC, the PDP will only be dreaming if it thinks and still sees Rivers as its traditional foothold. This fact was alluded to by the Rivers APC chairman, Dr Davies Ikanya, who, in a recent interview, said “The truth of the matter is that if the governor could switch over to APC with all the structure that used to belong to PDP, any human being thinking of changing the situation of things now is a dreamer...As I speak, APC is fully on ground in Rivers State.” As noted earlier, Amaechi is not alone in the battle to finally dislodge the PDP from the state. Apart from Ikanya, the governor has the strong support of several other political gladiators in the state. Notable among the other strong members of the Amaechi caucus are Senator Magnus Abe and Senator Wilson Ake (both currently members of the Senate), Honourable Dakuku Peterside, George Feyii, Mr Tele Ikuru and Honourable Otelemaba Dan-Amachree, as well as the majority members of the state House of Assembly. Senator Abe A lawyer, Abe represents Rivers South-East Senatorial District in the Senate. A vociferous supporter of Amaechi, the chairman, Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), has been described as an unassuming, intelligent, calculative and politically smart politician who first gained entry into Rivers politics when he was elected a member of the state House of Assembly on the ticket of the now defunct All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) in 1999. He later defected to PDP and became the Commissioner for Information under the Dr Peter Odili administration. Abe became the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) during Amaechi’s first coming as the state governor and later joined the Senate in 2011. A prominent supporter of Amaechi (it is being speculated that he, being of the Ogoni extraction which had never ruled the state since its inception, is being considered by the governor as his possible successor), Senator Abe has been in the forefront of the onslaught against PDP in Rivers State. Like Amaechi, Abe sees the party as a cankerworm and a party that is beyond redemption. He played a major role in a recent protest carried out in Port Harcourt by the governor’s loyalists against the alleged forceful entrance of Justice Daisy Okocha into the premises of the state High Court. Honourable Peterside From the same senatorial district like Abe, Peterside represents Andoni/Opobo/Nkoro Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives. He is also a very close political associate of Amaechi and he was once a Commissioner for Work under the governor. Interestingly, he also shares another common interest with Senator Abe, vis-a-vis the likely successor of the governor after May, 2015. Should the agitation for power shift as being envisaged by the riverine area of the state pull through, Peterside may emerge as APC candidate as the rumour mill also have it that the governor also have him on the waiting list. Tele Ikuru An engineer by profession, Ikuru is the Rivers State deputy governor. Described as a study in loyalty and political compromise, the deputy governor was also the deputy to Sir Celestine Omehia who was sacked by the Supreme Court in 2007 to pave the way for the emergence of Amaechi. When the incumbent eventually came to power, Ikuru retained his office and he has been seen as a very loyal assistant who would not Rick the boat. While it is not yet clear about his next political move, one thing that is very sure is that he will play a critical role in ensuring a safe landing for his principal post-2015 by ensuring the emergence of another loyal candidate for the governorship seat. Dan-Amachree The presiding officer in the state House of Assembly, Honourable Amachree has been a legislator in the state since the advent of the Fourth Republic in 1999. Whatever is his achievement as the Speaker is however said to have been dwarfed by Governor Amaechi who was said to have had wielded enormous power, control and influence when he occupied the same position between 1999 and 2007. Seen and regarded as the governor’s boy, Amachree, who was shaken by the recent crisis that engulfed the state legislature, is one of the string pillars who will definitely be pulling the strings in seeking constitutional support for Amaechi in the battle ahead the 2015 exit date. And things would be made easier for him and the governor in this regard as they both have backing of the majority of the state lawmakers. However, on the other side of the divide are those that can be rightly regarded as the then principal enemies of Governor Amaechi. Ironically, most of the ‘enemies’ of the governor were once some of his best friends. With the exemption of some few, most of them used to wine and dine together when the going was good. But in line with the aphorism, no permanent interest in politics, they are now strange bedfellows who want Amaechi, not only out of circulation, but bent on rubbishing whatever his achievements and contributions to development of the state. Principal among those who are diametrically opposed to Amaechi and who seek to obliterate what he represents in Rivers political history are the Supervising Minister of Education, Nyesom Wike, former Governor Odili, Senator George Sekibo, Tonye Princewill, Abiye Sekibo, Sir Celestine Omehia, Ateke Tom, Uche Secondus, Felix Obuah, Sergeant Awuse, Alabo Graham Douglas, Tamuno Danagogo, Chibudom Nwuche, Austin Opara and Honourable Evans Bipi, among others. President Jonathan Though Amaechi will not be a direct beneficiary of whatever is the outcome of the 2015 elections, the ego of the nation’s number one political office holder would be fatally and mortally wounded should PDP lose the governorship election in the state in 2015. In spite of the proclamation of respect for one man, one vote and his call for a free and fair electoral process, it is not without doubt that a loss to whoever emerges as the APC standard bearer in the election would further dent the president’s image. Indeed, Rivers is a must win for the president and his political party in 2015 for some obvious reasons. Amaechi has on several occasions rubbed mud on the president’s face, the most painful being the NGF chairmanship election in which Amaechi not only retained his seat but with many Nigerians coming to see Jonathan as the aggressive bully who seeks to silence his ‘gentle’ brother forever. Beyond personal grudge, Rivers, until Amaechi’s recent defection to APC, has been a stronghold of PDP since 1999. Will Amaechi, now as an APC man, turn the apple cart? The question becomes imperative for two reasons. First, should APC win, it will be a big dent on Jonathan’s claim to home acceptability in the South-South. Rivers, as a PDP state, delivered about two million votes for the party, representing the highest vote haul for the party in that year’s election. Though Amaechi cannot be said to be a supporter of Jonathan in that election, it remains a indubitable fact PDP was able to attain that feat as one and undivided entity. But same cannot be said of the present scenario in the state where the governor left PDP, along with some other key members of the party. So, will his absence not alter the status quo ante? Secondly, the man, Amaechi, was said to have never really win an election; he became a lawmaker by virtue of a court verdict. Ditto his emergence as the state governor. For this singular reason, many are wont to say that the man has not really been tested. But victory for the so-called untested in 2015 would prove the vulnerability of the PDP claim of being the biggest and most influential party in the country. In the other way round, a win for the PDP in Rivers in the election may permanently seal off the APC claim to being a precursor of progressive politics in the South-South. Peter Odili Apart from God, if there is anyone Amaechi should be grateful to for his political fortunes, it should not be any other individual than his predecessor, Dr Peter Odili. A former deputy governor in the state during the aborted Third Republic, Odili became the first Ikwerre man to occupy the exalted office of the governor between 1999 and 2007. He was said to have been betrayed by his political godson, Amaechi, following his (Odili) exit from office. While he is not constitutionally empowered to contest for the governorship again, he may not be favourably disposed to supporting whosever Amaechi may bring up in the APC for the election. Nyesom Wike The Supervising Minister of Education remains a thorn in the flesh of his erstwhile boss. A former chairman of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Wike was the Chief of Staff to Amaechi when the going was good between them. He was said to have come to a tremendous political stature and wealth during his stint as the Chief of Staff. This he deployed in the 2011 elections with the delivery of the over two million votes to PDP and thus ensuring a landslide victory for both the president and Governor Amaechi in that election. However, things soon fell apart between the duo (Amaechi and Wike) and they have since become political foes. Cashing on the ‘battle’ between the president and the governor, Wike became the arrowhead of the anti-Amaechi group in Rivers. The state PDP structure was effectively taken from the governor and handed over to him. Using his political pressure group, the Grassroots Development Initiative (GDI), the Supervising Minister of Education has been at the forefront of the attempts to reduce Amaechi to rubles after 2015. Sir Celestine Omehia He was briefly, until his removal via a court pronouncement in 2007, the governor of Rivers State on the platform of PDP. The judicial intervention ensured the emergence of Amaechi as the state governor. Omehia resurfaced in the build up to the 2011 election on the platform of ANPP but was defeated by the incumbent, who is his cousin. The man is back in PDP; can he work for his cousin in 2015 and risk being accused of anti-party activity or stick to the doctrine of permanent interest as represented by party affiliation? Prince Uche Secondus He is the deputy national PDP chairman whose political fortunes soared during the Odili administration. Addressed as the ‘Total Chair’ by party faithful for his political influence, Secondus was said to be instrumental to the recruitment of PDP political appointees from Ndoni/Opobo/Nkoro federal constituency where he hails from. The PDP chieftain is said to be at the forefront of the moves to render Amaechi politically impotent after 2015. Chibudom Nwuche He was elected into the House of Representatives in 1999 and consequently became the Deputy Speaker. He was also once an acting PDP deputy national chairman. Till date, Nwuche remains a staunch supporter of the yet-to-be announced second term ambition of President Jonathan. He never hide his disdain for Amaechi who he accused of flouting and disrespecting constituted authorities, especially respect for the highest political office in the land, and party hierarchy. Austin Opara Also a former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Opara contested and lost the PDP governorship primaries against Amaechi in 2006. From the Ikwerre ethnic group, he is in the side of the PDP in the quest to whittle down the power and influence of Governor Amaechi in the build up to and after the 2015 elections. Honourable Evans Bipi The factional Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Bipi has come to be regarded as the political enfant terrible and one of the political nemesis of the Amaechi administration. While the governor’s camp sees him as a man who is barely literate and academically unfit to be a legislator, the man appears to know what he is doing as he has persistently remain a thorn in the flesh of the APC administration in the state. Bipi was recently in the news for the obvious reason; a plan to cut short the tenure of Amaechi through an impeachment process. The state APC chapter had accused him of being the arrowhead of a plot by six PDP lawmakers to impeach Amaechi, saying such was an invitation to anarchy. Describing the alleged impeachment plan as illegal, the party also described Bipi as a violator of the Nigerian Constitution by not complying with a court decision which allegedly barred him from parading himself as a Speaker of the state House of Assembly. However, Bipi stood his ground, claiming that the ruling party was only afraid of its impending doom, alleging that the governor had committed enough offences to warrant his impeachment from office. Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune, Honourable Bipi said there were several grounds on which to impeach the governor. An unrepentant and avowed anti-Amaechi, Bipi, in reaction to the APC that he should stop parading himself as the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, said APC was only being ignorant of the court process. “This people are simply stupid and ignorant of the court process. They went to seek for an injunction restraining me from parading myself as the Speaker. But this is not a perpetual injunction; it can only last for seven days, after which I revert back to my status. I am not a stooge and Amaechi cannot use me; I know my right from my left. The pro-Amaechi lawmakers are boot-licking members who had nothing doing before coming to Rivers State House of Assembly. Unlike them, I have something doing before becoming a lawmaker and I am okay. I am not under any financial stress but Amaechi must pay for all the offences he had committed. He should start packing his loads. He has within the next six months to do that. If not, what happened in Ekiti State last Saturday will happen to him”, Bipi said. Felix Obuah The state PDP chairman, Obuah, popularly known as “Go Round” due to his acclaimed generosity, will definitely play a decisive role in determining the fate of many politicians in Rivers in 2015, more importantly in view of the fact that his own political fortune is at stake and is directly attached with whatever will be the outcome of the 2015 elections. Sergeant Awuse An old political fox also admiringly called “bulldozer” by his admirers, Awuse is said to be a veteran political mobilizer with a huge financial resources at his disposal. A friend of the presidency and member of the ongoing national conference in Abuja, the man, without doubt, cannot be in support of whatever can be aimed at sustaining the Amaechi legacy in Rivers State. Alabo Graham Douglas A former Minister of Aviation, Graham Douglas is one of the old political reliables and a staunch supporter of President Jonathan. A respected Kalabari chief and philanthropist, he may likely play a major role in determining the successor of Amaechi but definitely in favour of PDP. Dr Tammy Danagogo Until his recent appointment as the Minister of Sport, Danagogo was the Commissioner for Urban Development in the Amaechi administration but refused to defect along with the governor to the APC. He is definitely one of the needed foot soldiers to sustain the PDP legacy in Rivers State after 2015. Indeed, it is going to be an interesting scenario in Rivers State in 2015. While Amaechi and the APC leadership in the state laid claim to the achievements and landmark of the present administration as a factor that would ensure its continuity ahead 2015, the main opposition party had boasted that there will be a repeat of the recent Ekiti governorship election in which PDP emerged victorious. Will Amaechi prove to be the proverbial cat with the nine lives and emerge unscathed from the PDP onslaught in the state? Time is the deciding factor.
Posted on: Tue, 08 Jul 2014 12:25:12 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015