CONCERNED that the political crisis in Rivers State portends a grave danger to the nation’s democracy, seven governors have urged President Goodluck Jonathan to exert his moral authority and allow peace to reign.
This appeal came on Thursday as the state’s authorities rejected intelligence officers posted to the Government House, Port Harcourt and denied an allegation by the wife of the president, Mrs. Patience Jonathan, that Governor Chibuike Amaechi imposed a nine-month curfew on her community, Okrika.
The governors, who sought Jonathan’s intervention at the Government House, Port Harcourt yesterday, were Babatunde Fashola (Lagos), Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo), Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun) and Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun).
Others were represented by their deputies namely, Mukhtar Anka (Zamfara), Eze Madumere (Imo) and Dameshi Barua Luka (Nasarawa).
Fayemi, who briefed journalists after their interaction with Amaechi, explained that they were in Port Harcourt to express their solidarity with the governor, the government and the people of the state.
According to him, they ought to be in Abuja yesterday for the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting, but decided to visit Amaechi to stress the importance of their concern for the security of the people of the state.
He said the seven governors believed that the lingering political crisis in the state really required the moral authority of the President. According to him, a presidential intervention would amount to deepening democracy and ensuring that peace reigns, not just in the state, but in the entire federation.
“We believe the president being our leader, we are president’s men. We are all president’s governors, he is our leader and we feel that he actually occupies a very critical position that necessitates his wielding his moral authority in ensuring that peace reigns here and that nobody uses him by subterfuge to create situations that are entirely avoidable. The tension in Rivers State is entirely avoidable and we want all parties to sheathe their swords and to help restore peace and security of our state here,” Fayemi said.
He went on: “We have met with our brother and chairman of our forum and he has briefed us on the situation on ground here and we feel strongly that having listened to him, it will be quite important for him to actually go and brief the president, who is our leader and chief security officer of the country on the very, very challenging security here in Rivers State. And we believe that our chairman and brother will give serious consideration to that particular concern that we have also expressed to him. It is important as the chief security officer of the state to go and brief the president on the security situation in Rivers State.”
Concerned about the seeming partisan posture of the police in the political crisis in the state, the governors urged the inspector- general of police to help in restoring the diminished confidence of the people of the state in the police. They expressed the hope that the IG was very well placed to take all necessary steps to restore the confidence of the state government, governor and citizenry.
But the state government has refuted an allegation that the administration of Amaechi deliberately imposed a nine-month curfew on Okrika.
The Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, said the state government was worried that Mrs. Jonathan still bore a grudge against the governor, even after he heeded her advice not to acquire and demolish the property surrounding the model primary school which the Amaechi administration was building then.
Semenitari disclosed that the Chief Security Officer (CSO) of Amaechi was already in Abuja to honour the invitation of the police concerning the crisis in the state House of Assembly. She explained that the Aide-De-Camp (ADC), Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Debeware Semeikumo, could not report to the Force Headquarters because he had been flown out of the country because of the injuries he sustained during the mayhem penultimate Tuesday at the Assembly.
