The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has criticised the Rivers State House of Assembly and the All Progressives Congress (APC) for seeking to force Governor Siminalayi Fubara to violate the law.
The PDP condemned the members’ fresh threat to impeach Fubara as an embarrassment and a public nuisance for the state.
Sydney Gbara, the state PDP publicity secretary, revealed this in a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Monday.
Twenty-seven legislators loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory indicated on Sunday that they may reconsider Fubara’s impeachment as a final resort to enforce their responsibilities and preserve the constitution.
The Speaker of the House, Martin Amaewhule, who read the wording of a statement to reporters, accused Fubara of acting illegally despite signing a presidential peace deal amid the state’s political crisis.
However, the Rivers PDP Publicity Secretary, Gbara, urged lawmakers to cease disturbing the state’s tranquilly and allow Fubara to focus on governing and delivering his mandate to the people.
He claimed that the validity of the 27 lawmakers remained in doubt after they defected from the PDP to the APC.
Gbara said, “Those people were the first beneficiaries of the magnanimity and peaceful disposition of Governor Fubara, and signing the lopsided peace accord despite a court of competent jurisdiction that recognised Rt. Hon. Edison Ehie as the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly gave them a lifeline to still operate because, having defected to the APC without any crises in their PDP, their seats were vacant constitutionally.
“But to show how ungrateful they are, the several court cases querying their legality and seeking the interpretation of Section 109 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria will settle the dust around them in due course. No matter how long they try to run away from it, justice must be served because they no longer represent their constituencies.
“Their actions are a total embarrassment to the Rivers people and a complete show of public shame. The people elected them out of their goodwill, but they let those constituents down by pursuing a selfish agenda that has further plunged the state into crisis.
“The threats of impeachment are empty and cannot stand. It is selfish, and their pursuit of personal aggrandisement will be resisted by the Rivers people.
“If they want to know what Rivers people think about them, they should go to the streets to seek the opinion of the masses.
“As far as we are concerned, they are operating illegally; hence, their illegal laws are inconsequential on Rivers people.”
