The Government of Rivers State has posited that the move to impeach the State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, is an unlawful one.
This is as the State government berated the All Progressives Congress (APC) over its call on the State House of Assembly to immediately commence an impeachment process against Fubara.
The Caretaker Committee Chairman of the APC in Rivers State, Tony Okocha, had at a press conference on Tuesday made the request.
Okocha stated that the impeachment became imperative because the governor “has insulted the sensibility” of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who intervened to resolve the lingering crisis in the state.
Reacting to the Okocha’s call, the state’s Commissioner for Information and Communications, Joseph Johnson, explained that the 27 lawmakers in the State House of Assembly lacked the moral standing and power to impeach the Governor as they are no longer have legitimacy.
According to him, attempts to impeach the Governor would be anarchy, noting that the people of the State would do whatever it takes to thwart such move.
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His words: “It is not going to be an easy journey. They should not imagine embarking on it because Rivers people will resist them. Rivers people will resist them because it is even baseless to think of it. They are not fighting with legitimacy; they are only fighting for their own survival. On what plank will you put that? The law says you can’t put legality on illegality.
“As far as we are concerned, they do not even have the locus standi to do that. They should not even bother to start it because Section 109(g) has settled the case. It says if an Assembly member defects from his own party that brought him to power, you automatically lose his seat. They have done that, and it is settled. Our Constitution is the grand norm.
“The court, the Supreme Court, is there to look at these elementary issues. There is also a subsisting judgement on this, so we don’t need a second opinion on whether we should respect them as Assembly members or not. The Supreme Court has already declared those seats vacant.
“Tony Okocha was just yesterday declared as not being a member of APC by a former chairman of the party, Sokonte Davies. He is a factional chairman. We want the faction led by Chief Emeka Beke to say the same thing. Okocha is standing on one leg. His call is an empty call. His advice to impeach the governor is a journey that leads nowhere, and they will not succeed. The lawmakers are not existent, and they are not seen in law.”
