The Ijaw National Congress (INC) has said that the Ijaw Nation has been watching with dismay the confrontation between the Rivers State House of Assembly and the Governor of Rivers State, Mr. Siminalayi Fubara and is warning the it would not accept the impeachment of the governor in whatever guise.
The President of INC, Prof. Benjamin Okaba, gave the warning on Wednesday in Port Harcourt while addressing a press conference on the political crisis in Rivers State.
The INC president said the House of Assembly was overstepping its constitutional boundaries by querying appointments allowed the governor by the constitution thereby distracting the governor from carrying out his duties of governance, providing infrastructure and developing human capital.
He said the primary duty of the legislature in a democracy is to make laws for the welfare, peace and good governance of the state. But when they fail to respect constituted authority, they are then not respecting the boundaries set up by the constitution, Okaba said.
“We condemn this attitude. It’s a show of irresponsibility. The INC advises that they should desist from this,” he said.
He also condemned a recent public statement by a local government chairman who called the governor a fool. “Such statements are defamatory and do not breed conducive working environment and are capable of provoking anger and destroy the peace we all crave for,” he added.
Okaba however praised Gov. Fubara for remaining calm in the face of the provocations. “We thank God for Gov. Sim who has decided to be focused,” he said.
The INC president said the Congress had it on good authority that all the provocations were geared towards a plot to impeach the governor. “But we want to advise. Ijaw Nation will not accept any form of impeachment of any guise.
“Though it is not an ethnic issue, the point has to be made that Governor Sim Fubara is a son of Ijaw Nation and it is in the DNA of the Ijaw Nation to defend their own when he has not done anything wrong,” he warned.
He further clarified that the position of the INC is not a clash between the Ijaw and Ikwerre peoples because the issue at stake had no ethnic colouration.
He said this is because the first names of legislators on the list that issued the former impeachment notice on the governor were Ijaw, while some of the protesters arrested for supporting the governor were Ikwerre, saying INC would stand behind anyone whether Ijaw , Ogpninor Etche, if they found themselves in a similar position with Governor Sim Fubara.
“The people are aggrieved that Siminalayi has come with a new dawn of peace and freedom. He represents a new dawn of freedom of Rivers people to express their freedom. Rivers people were under siege when a governor talked down on everybody including traditional rulers.
“Rivers State does not belong to one person,” Okaba warned.
He used the opportunity to caution Ijaw members of the House of Assembly. “They should know the implication of betraying an Ijaw son. Those that betrayed Gov Diepriye Alamiyeseigha and other Ijaw sons have gone into political oblivion. Ijaw people don’t sell out,” he said.
Also speaking to journalists on the sides, prominent Niger Delta leader and member of Rivers Elders Forum, Chief Anabs Sara-Igbe, said those members of the house of Assembly troubling the governor were operating unconstitutionally because they had all lost their seats.
He warned that if the federal Government failed to step in and resolve the crisis, the crisis may escalate beyond Rivers State and become a zonal matter which make take greater toll on the economy and stability of the country.
