TheNewsGuru

Tag: Rivers State

  • Court restrains Rivers lawmakers from impeaching Fubara

    Court restrains Rivers lawmakers from impeaching Fubara

    A Rivers State High Court of Isiokpo Division, on Wednesday, issued an interim injunction, restraining the state House of Assembly and the Speaker, Martin Amaewhule, from impeaching Gov. Siminalayi Fubara.

    Also restrained by the court are the Deputy Speaker, the Clerk and the state Chief Judge, Justice Simeon Chibuzor-Amadi.

    The Presiding Judge, Hon. Justice Ben Whyte, issued the order, following the deposition of the Motion Ex Parte, filed by Mr Damian Okoro (SAN) on behalf of the governor against the defendants.

    The court further restrained “the defendants and their agents, privies, proxies and representatives from initiating, continuing or proceeding with the process of the removal of the claimant from office as the governor of Rivers.”

    The defendants were also restrained by the order of the court from “interfacing with and/or preventing the claimant from carrying out the duties and functions of his office as governor, pending the hearing and determination of the Motion on Notice.’’

    Moreover, the judge ordered the parties in the case to maintain the status quo by not doing anything in furtherance of the purported impeachment of the applicant as governor.

    The case was later adjourned to November 14, for hearing.

  • Rivers Police command speaks on attacking Gov. Fubara

    Rivers Police command speaks on attacking Gov. Fubara

    The Rivers state police command have finally reacted to claims that its personnel deliberately attacked Governor Siminalayi Fubara during his visit to the state House of Assembly complex in Port Harcourt.

    According to the governor, some policemen shot, tear-gassed and used water cannons on him and his aides while on his way to assess the arsonist-damaged state parliament building on Monday.

    Meanwhile a video that went viral on social media on Tuesday morning  also confirmed the governor’s claims of being tear gased

    The video generated a lot of negative reactions from Nigerians on social media.

    Reacting, the Spokesperson for the Police Command in Rivers, SP Grace Iringe-Koko, denied the alleged deliberate attack on the governor in a statement on Wednesday.

    She said the anti-protest policemen deployed to secure the state House of Assembly from further attacks were unaware that the governor was among the crowd approaching the facility.

    Iringe-Koko said, “Following the receipt of credible intelligence on the intention of some armed group of persons to cause mayhem, particularly at the House of Assembly, armed police operatives were deployed.

    “Also, the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations (DC Ops) deployed the operatives based on the previous case of arson on the assembly building.

    “The DC Ops personally supervised (the police operatives) to intercept the ‘hoodlums’ and ensure the protection of lives and properties within the assembly facility and its environs.

    Iringe-Koko said during the operation, that protesting youths numbering over 100 stationed at the entrance of the assembly complex conducted themselves in a manner likely to cause a breach of peace.

    “This led to the Police deploying non-lethal crowd control equipment, including tear gas and water cannons to disperse the riotous and uncontrollable protesters.

    “However, some minutes later, another aggressive group of people approached the entrance of the complex and advanced toward the premises.

    “The Police, therefore, engaged them in a like manner but observed the Governor Siminalayi of Rivers State was in their midst.

    “The presence of the governor at the scene was of great surprise and shock as there was no prior communication to the Police on his visit to the scene (assembly building),” she stated.

    Iringe-Koko said the usual protocol for any governor visiting a crisis area was to inform the Police ahead to enable the command accompany and provide the governor with the needed security.

    She said upon realising the governor was among the crowd of persons approaching the assembly building, the DC Ops immediately ordered his men to stand down and give the governor access.

    “To this end, the governor and his entourage went inside the assembly complex to assess the level of damage caused by the fire incident.

    “It is pertinent to state that the Police did not deliberately attack the governor, or even attempt to hurt anyone, let alone the chief executive and security officer of the state.

    “It is our most essential role to protect the governor, and, as such, the news being peddled in some section of the media is a misrepresentation.

    In another development, Iringe-Koko confirmed the arrest of 122 suspects over alleged invasion of the official residence of the former Speaker of the House of Assembly in Rivers, Martins Amaewhule.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Amaewhule was on Monday impeached as the Speaker of the state House of Assembly by 26 lawmakers and replaced by Ehie Edison, representing Ahoada East II constituency.

    The police spokesperson alleged that the protesters led by one Chijioke Ihunwo on Wednesday forcefully gained entrance into the former speaker’s residence at Forces Avenue, Old GRA in Port Harcourt.

    “The youths damaged the gate of the house and while they were carrying out their nefarious activities, a distress call was put across to the control room of the command.

    “Thereafter, our tactical team was immediately deployed to the scene where 122 suspects including Ihunwo were arrested and taken to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID).

    “Consequently, we have placed adequate security at the State of Assembly complex; the Speaker’s residence and other strategic locations and infrastructure to forestall any ugly incident,” she stated.

    Iringe-Koko also noted that the Commissioner of Police in the state, CP Nwony Emeka, had urged residents to go about their lawful duties as security measures have been put in place to de-escalate and restore normalcy.

     

  • Wike finally speaks on Rivers crisis, says you can’t make me politically irrelevant

    Wike finally speaks on Rivers crisis, says you can’t make me politically irrelevant

    …as PDP govs meet him today

    … insists the right thing must be done

    The Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has finally spoken on the crisis in Rivers State amid the plot to impeach Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

    TheNewsGuru.com, (TNG) reports this is just as governors elected under the platform of PDP meet with him today.

    The FCT minister disclosed this while receiving South-South leaders at his office on Tuesday, Wike, a former Rivers State Governor, emphasised the importance of holding his base to maintain his political relevance.

    He maintained that once he loses his base as a politician, he has lost his relevance politically.

    Wike explained that no amount of calumny levelled against him would make him lose sleep, adding that the right thing must be done.

    “All of us want to be politically relevant; all of us want to maintain our political structure,” the minister said.

    “Is it not your political structure? Will you allow anybody to just cut you out immediately? Everybody has a base. If you take my base, am I not politically irrelevant?”
    The relationship between Wike and Fubara is said to have gone sour following the threat by the Assembly to impeach the governor.

    Some have accused Wike of being the brain behind the impeachment plot. The Rivers Assembly Complex was turned into a confusion theatre after fire gutted a section on Sunday night
    There was also some drama on Monday morning with the removal of principal officers in the Assembly as gunshots rent the air.

    Fubara had stormed the Complex on Monday to see the level of the damage and alleged that he was shot at by the police, an allegation the police said was being probed.

    Both Wike and Fubara are of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). But Wike noted that internal wranglings are common in politics and will be settled using the party’s mechanisms.
    “In politics, there are a lot of internal wranglings,” he said.

    “But to come out and say ‘Oh they want to do this against me, it will not work.’ I had every power then to say where this thing is going. So, when things are wrong, you ask questions. It is a party affair. The party knows how they resolve their own mechanism, it is not an ethnic affair.

    “Our party is coming to it, that is what I will say. Every politician has his own interest,” the former governor added.

     

    Meanwhile, the governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, known as PDP Governors’ Forum, will today (Wednesday) meet the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, for reconciliation and mediation purposes.

    The forum made this known in a statement issued by its Director-General, Cyril Maduabum, on Wednesday, November 1, 2023.

    Maduabum noted that the governors’ decision to visit Wike was reached at the forum’s meeting in Abuja on Tuesday.

    ”The Chairman of the Forum, Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, hereby requests member Governors to converge at his residence, No 1 Miriam Aloma Muktar Street, Asokoro, opposite Rivers State Governors Lodge at 10.45 am to accompany him for the visit,” he noted.

    Maduabum added that the meeting will hold at the FCT Minister’s office by 11 a.m.

    The latest development is coming after some members of the Rivers State House of Assembly moved to impeach the state governor, Siminalayi Fubara.

    This led to chaos in the state on Monday as the governor and his loyalists stormed the Assembly complex in protest against the plot.

    Also speaking on the crisis, the PDP Governors’ Forum Chairman and Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, said President Bola Tinubu had intervened in the crisis.

    Mohammed, while briefing State House correspondents after a closed-door meeting with Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Tuesday, said: “We had a closed session where very serious national issues were discussed that has serious security implications. That is the problem emerging in Rivers.

    “The president in his usual leadership position intervened and then it will appear that there will be peace in that respect.

    “He has showed that he is a president for everybody.”

  • BREAKING! Gov Fubara, Wike sighted in Aso Rock shaking hands

    BREAKING! Gov Fubara, Wike sighted in Aso Rock shaking hands

    The Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara; and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, on Tuesday, met at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

    The two were seen shaking hands upon meeting.

    The meeting of the two politicians and members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) followed the impeachment proceedings launched against Fubara by the Rivers State House of Assembly on Monday.

    Fubara; and Wike, the immediate-past governor of Rivers State, appeared to be in the Villa for a meeting of the Nigeria Police Council, a constitutional body that oversees the organisation and administration of the Nigeria Police Force.

    The Council is chaired by President Bola Tinubu.

    The governor of each state of the Federation, the Chairman of the Police Service Commission and the Inspector-General of Police make up the Council.

    The last time the Nigeria Police Council met was on June 4, 2021 and then-President Muhammadu Buhari presided over the meeting.

  • BREAKING: Rivers Assembly adjourns sine die

    BREAKING: Rivers Assembly adjourns sine die

    The Rivers State House of Assembly has adjourned sine die, the newly elected Speaker of the House, Hon Edison Ehie disclosed on Monday.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the Rivers State House of Assembly adjourned sine die shortly after Ehie was elected the new Speaker of the House.

    Speaking shortly after emerging Speaker, Ehie said: “My commitment to Rivers people is that I will be fair and just to all and sundry and I will ensure that the rule of law takes its course.

    “I will not betray my colleagues; I will not betray Rivers people; I will not betray my constituents. I will also ensure the independence of the Rivers State House of Assembly is adhered to with mutual to the judiciary and executive arm of government.

    “Everything due my colleagues as honourable members, constitutionally, would be given to them.

    “The honourable members that have been suspended, as have been published, which you people have seen, would also be given fair hearing.

    “The committee on information will published their names and the House has urged the committee on petitions to give them fair hearing, equally.

    “The House has also adjourned sine die because the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN) has served us a notice of indefinite strike from Abuja.

    “So, we cannot sit again. It, therefore, holds that any sitting after now will not hold waters because they have given us official notice”.

  • BREAKING: Confusion as Rivers Assembly elects sacked Leader new Speaker

    BREAKING: Confusion as Rivers Assembly elects sacked Leader new Speaker

    The Rivers State House of Assembly has elected the sacked Majority Leader of the House, Hon Edison Ehie as the new Speaker of the House.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Ehie was sacked by the State lawmakers in the early hours of Monday, October 30, 2023.

    However, in a twist of events, Ehie has emerged as the new Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

    His emergence as the new Rivers State House of Assembly Speaker came after 26 members of the Assembly elected him during plenary

    The new Speaker shortly thereafter announced the suspension of some key officers of the State House of Assembly.

    Also, the new leadership of the Rivers State House of Assembly suspended the Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Chibuzor Amadi.

    Speaking shortly after emerging Speaker, Ehie disclosed the Rivers State House of Assembly has been adjourned sine die.

  • BREAKING: Rivers Assembly serves impeachment notice on Gov. Fubara

    BREAKING: Rivers Assembly serves impeachment notice on Gov. Fubara

    The Rivers State House of Assembly has begun the process of impeaching the State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara.

    To this end, the State’s lawmakers served an impeachment notice on Fubara after removing the House Leader, Edison Ehie, who is believed to be on the Governor’s side.

    Twenty-four out of 32 members of Rivers Assembly have signed the document for Fubara’s impeachment.

    The decisions were taken at an emergency sitting by the lawmakers on Monday morning. The unusual sitting took place between 7am and 9am on Monday.

  • Impeachment plot: Rivers Governor, Fubara cries out

    Impeachment plot: Rivers Governor, Fubara cries out

    Rivers State governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has asked lawmakers seeking his removal to tell Nigerians the offenses he committed.

    There was a plot to commence impeachment proceedings  Governor Fubara today.

    The move that was, however, thwarted following the fire explosion at the Rivers State House of Assembly during the early hours of Monday.

    Addressing journalists at the assembly complex, Governor Fubara said he has not committed any offence to warrant impeachment by the Rivers State House of Assembly.

    “What have I done? Let them come out and tell Rivers people the offence I have committed to warrant any impeachment,” he said.

    While assuring his people of getting the dividends of democracy, the governor said he would speak on the matter at the appropriate time.

    “Let me assure the people of Rivers that I will continue to ensure that you get the dividends of democracy. At the appropriate time I will address the press,” he said.

     

     

  • UPDATE: Rivers State Assembly Leader sacked by colleagues

    UPDATE: Rivers State Assembly Leader sacked by colleagues

    Members of the Rivers State House of Assembly have sacked the House Leader, Edison Ehie.

    Ehie was sacked by the lawmakers in the early hours of Monday, October 30, 2023.

    The latest development is coming amid speculations of an impending impeachment procedure against Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara.

    The removal of the House Leader further led to a crisis as security operatives fired tear gas outside the Assembly complex.

    The governor was present at the Assembly Complex while the House members fled for safety over the incident.

    A protest is also ongoing outside the Complex as of the time of filing this report.

    The development comes hours after a fire broke out at the assembly complex on Sunday night.

  • UPDATE: Watch Gov Fubara speak on teargassing incident

    UPDATE: Watch Gov Fubara speak on teargassing incident

    Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara has broke silence on the water-spraying and tear-gassing incident while he was on his way to the State House of Assembly Complex on Monday.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Governor Fubara was reportedly water-sprayed and tear-gassed while on his way to the State House of Assembly Complex on Monday.

    Speaking shortly after the incident, the Governor accused the security agencies in the State of compromise.

    “From what I have seen the security agency is even compromised. They were shooting at me directly but it doesn’t matter, somebody will die one day.

    “When people here ask who is this Fubara? He is that man that was killed for his struggle. I am not against anybody. I’m not planning anything against anybody that I don’t know where these things are coming from.

    “Let it be put on record that whoever masterminded this is trying to shift… I heard some people gathered to do whatever. That is purely rubbish.

    “You can’t sit when there is problem and say you are doing anything. What are you doing? I’m the chief security officer. I’m the head of the government… whatever action that is taken here is null and void.

    “For our good people, I know you are prayerful. You have been praying for me. God will see us to the end,” Fubara said.

    Watch Governor Fubara address the incident below: