THE IMPEACHMENT IN RIVERS STATE AND MATTERS ARISING

  BEING TEXT DELIVERED BY RT. HON. EVANS BIPI, SPEAKER RIVERS STATE HOUSE  OF ASSEMBLY @ A PRESS CONFERENCE   IN ABUJA ON 17TH, JULY, 2013.

THE IMPEACHMENT IN RIVERS STATE AND MATTERS ARISING

PROTOCOL:

I bring greetings to everyone present at this press conference which is my first parley with the media after my acceptance speech in Port-Harcourt, Rivers state.

I am duly elected, sworn-in and had given an acceptance speech and am still the speaker of the house of assembly.

This parley has become necessary due to the present situation and recent happenings in Rivers State and the aftermath, negative comments and press blitz orchestrated by the governor and his cohorts in the state.

I am a concerned party in the recent development in the state that brought about my election as the new speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly. I was duly nominated and elected on the floor of the house with appropriate instruments and officers of the house.

Sadly, immediately after I was elected speaker, the governor, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi  invaded the hallowed chambers of the Rivers State  house of Assembly with thugs ,  his ADC ,CSO and a retinue of other security men  and personally gave orders   for the brutalization of lawmakers and staff of the  Assembly. As we speak, one of us Hon. M.O Chinda lies critically ill in a hospital and has undergone several surgeries as an aftermath of the Amaechi ordered and supervised brutalization of members of the Assembly. Is it right for a sitting governor without proper communication with the legislature to invade the house for whatever reason with thugs? This, my brothers and sisters is the pitiable state of governance in Rivers state as practiced by an infantile Governor.

Please recall that Governor Amaechi has been in the press screaming for all to hear that his life was in danger because all security aides attached to him and government house Port Harcourt has been withdrawn. Who is the liar here my brothers? Rivers people and indeed Nigerians need to know the truth.

Since my emergence I have enjoyed the support of various stakeholders in Rivers State including my dear colleagues and the state chapter of PDP and am very grateful.

I pledge my loyalty and allegiance to our great party, the greatest party in Africa, Peoples Democratic Party of Nigeria  (PDP), elders and  stakeholders in the Rivers Project for making it possible for us to enjoy internal party democracy at all levels.

 Let me bring to your attention the factors that necessitated the impeachment of our former Speaker who failed in his responsibility to bring the governor to book and to act on other matters of state interest.

The recent romance of the governor with the opposition and other anti party activities which led to his suspension from the PDP stands out as a sore thumb in the face of all right thinking Rivers people.

His immature emotional outbursts, arrogance, childish tantrums and insults rained on the entire party, elders and stakeholders, his stoppage of the entitlements of five legislators for a year and the near  collapse of the administration of the state necessitated our resolve and move to seek measures to rescue Rivers people from the shackles of corruption, high handedness and maladministration.

The Governor’s recent tantrums and unguided statements  has brought trauma to the people of Rivers State and has put the state in a bad light across the country and in the eyes of right thinking people.

We are here to put the records straight in the midst of all the negative media commentaries that have trailed the impeachment and to correct all the fallacies sent out by the governor and his machinery. Right from the very start, Amaechi has put a machinery in place, oiled with Rivers people’s money to ensure that whatever information or news emanating from the state is edited and spiced to suit his whims and caprices. 

Let me use this opportunity to say that everything seen on the internet, YouTube and other media platforms have been carefully edited and orchestrated by the governor and his mercenaries planted in several media houses.

REASONS FOR THE IMPEACHMENT OT THE SPEAKER;

1.     Money appropriated by the Rivers House of Assembly for the purchase of aircraft was 45 million dollars only but it was inflated by the governor to be 55 million dollars.

2.     We want to know the position of other aircrafts owned by Rivers State government, the bombardier aircraft bought by his administration and in whose name it was bought  for how much?

3.     The governor’s wife has siphoned all constituency projects to her Private NGO, while members opposed to his mal administration   are being denied their 2013 constituency projects as well as monthly  allowances.

4.     Without due process, the governor suspended Obi/Akpor LGA chairman, vice chairman, secretary and 17 councilors, till date they remain out of office.

5.     The Governor has consistently interfered in the affairs of the legislative chambers in the state.

6.     Most legislative bills are altered to suit the governor before being signed into law by the governor.

7.     The governor has consistently dipped his hands into the public till of the state including the local government council funds. Nigerians should know that Amaechi does not merit the saintly toga he has thrown around himself.

8.  40 billion naira was approved for the Rivers Monorail project out of which about 19billion naira has been released. There is nothing to show that the amount so far released was judiciously used for the project as the project remains comatose.

9. His absolute lack of respect for elders and disregard for party supremacy.

This has portrayed the average Rivers man as lacking manners and decorum while the reverse is actually the case.

May I ask this pertinent question?

What is Wole Soyinka’s interest in Rivers State? Does he want to let people know that Rotimi is a Yoruba man?

People should disregard whatever they are saying in the media because he has used tax payer’s money to spin the newspapers to his favour.

My friends in the media, this is  where we are coming from and why we took the bull by the horns to salvage our state from this man who had so much goodwill but has spent all due to his high level of infantile tantrums  and childishness in governance.

I invite you my friends to properly investigate stories emanating from Rivers state so as not to unwillingly be part of Governor Amaechi's disinformation machinery.

Thank you and God bless.

Hon. Evans Bipi.

Speaker

Rivers state House of Assembly.