Awaji-Inombek Abiante, member representing Rivers State’s Andoni-Opobo/Nkoro federal constituency in the House of Representatives, says the former Governor and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, is aware that the Assembly complex had become defective.
According to him, Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s administration has no ulterior motive for demolishing the State House of Assembly.
While speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, Abiante stated that while other public buildings have been demolished and rebuilt in the past, the Assembly complex should not be treated differently.
His words: “On the demolition of the chamber, even before the exit of the immediate past governor, on the day he commissioned the residential quarters of the Speaker, he brought the attention of all of us that the chamber indeed could not stand the test of time. It had leakages all over and there had been a recent incident, whether it was burnt or there was explosion, it failed an integrity test.
“Nobody would want to expose themselves to that danger. Is there a history of having to rebuild public asset? The answer is yes. The Mile One market has been brought down and reconstructed; the Fruit Garden has been brought down and reconstructed; the Assembly Quarters has been brought down and reconstructed, so what is the difference? They were all public assets and had to be rebuilt, and in rebuilding them, you had to bring down the previous structures.”
READ ALSO: 27 Rivers PDP Lawmakers Loyal To Wike Defect To APC
Information Nigeria reports that the demolition of the Assembly complex on Wednesday, was greeted with mixed reactions, as it came a day after 27 lawmakers loyal to Wike defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress.
On account of the crisis, no fewer than nine commissioners had resigned from the governor’s cabinet.
The Assembly members who described the demolition as the height of recklessness, noted that archives and personal belongings were lost to the exercise.
Speaking on the defection of the 27 lawmakers, Abiante explained that the members who defected had become former members.
“Some members have decided to leave the constitutional duties assigned to them. The Supreme Court had made a decision on that, that if you leave the political party on the platform of which you were elected, when there is no division, you lose your seat.
“As it stands today, we had members who are former members of the House of Assembly. On their volition, they decided to leave and they are gone. They should be courageous enough to stand up to the choice they have made,” he said.
