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Rivers Crises Deepen As Oko-Jumbo Emerges Factional Assembly Speaker
The member representing Bonny State Constituency, Victor Oko-Jumbo, has emerged as a factional Speaker of the 10th Rivers State House of Assembly.
Oko-Jumbo promised to be transparent in the discharge of legislative duties.
He was elected on Wednesday at 10 am during plenary, in line with the Standing Order of the House.
Jumbo stated this in a statement he jointly signed with the new Clerk of the House, Dr. G. M. Gillis-West, issued in Port Harcourt on Wednesday and made available to newsmen.
In his acceptance speech, Oko-Jumbo thanked the members for electing him as the new Speaker sequel to the resignation of the former Speaker, Edison Ehie.
Oko-Jumbo accused the Martin Amaewhule-led lawmakers of legislative rascality since the political crisis that plagued the state started and declared that all laws and actions enacted and taken by what he termed illegal House have been voided.
The factional speaker also called on Governor Siminalayi Fubara to henceforth discontinue any dealings with the 25 lawmakers.
Speaking on the floor of the House, Oko-Jumbo said, “This is in line with Section 92(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (CFRN 1999) as Amended.
“You will agree with me that after the House last sat on the 13th of December, 2023, and adjourned sine die, there has been an avalanche of legislative rascality perpetrated by the 25 former members of the 10th Rivers State House of Assembly, led by the former Speaker, Martin Chike Amaewhule.
“These former members, being fully aware of the provisions of Section 109(1)(g) of the CFRN 1999, defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Party (APC) on the 11th of December, 2023.
“Consequently, the Rt. Hon. Edison Ogerenye Ehie-led Assembly, on the 13th of December, 2023, wrote to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), declaring the seats of the 25 lawmakers vacant in line with Section 109(1)(g) and (2) of the CFRN 1999.”
He noted that there are a plethora of cases pending in courts further to the defection of the lawmakers.
Oko-Jumbo added, “All laws, plenary sessions and actions taken by the illegal House members are hereby declared void and a nullity in the eyes of the law by virtue of the judgment of Lord Denning in the celebrated case of MacFoy v UAC (1961) 3 All ER 1169.
“Lord Denning held in that case that you cannot put something on nothing and expect it to stand. Particularly, Lord Denning stated: ‘If an act is void, then it is in law a nullity. It is not only bad but incurably bad. There is no need for an order of court to set it aside.
“‘It is automatically null and void without more ado, though it is sometimes more convenient to have the court declare it to be so’.”
He stated further that every proceeding which was founded on the activities of the lawmakers had become ‘bad and incurably bad’.
“You cannot put something on nothing and expect it to stay there. It will collapse,” he added.
He called on the Executive arm, the Judiciary and the general public to disregard every law purportedly enacted by members of the other faction.
He added, “Furthermore, this House would want to most respectfully urge and call on His Excellency, the Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, to desist forthwith from further dealings with the 25 former lawmakers, in whatever guise.
“Those members are merely floating and do not have any landing ground or anywhere to berth their ship since their defection to the All Progressives Congress on the 11th of December, 2023.
“This House is the legally and constitutionally recognised House of Assembly by virtue of the defection of the other members and is ready to receive correspondences from and work with His Excellency, the Governor of Rivers State, Sir Siminalayi Fubara. Distinguished colleagues, let me thank you once again.”
Speaking to journalists after the sitting of the House, Oko-Jumbo said he would stay true to his constitutional duties and work assiduously for the growth and development of Rivers people and the state.
“We will sit again, and communicate our proceedings to the public and make sure that we are doing what we ought to do to ensure there is transparency and clarity of leadership of the 10th Legislative Assembly,” he said.
Also speaking, a factional Leader of the House, Sokari Goodboy Sokari said, “As the chairman of the government business in the 10th Assembly, as you’ve heard our Speaker say, we will work in line with set goals to achieve synergy with the Executive.
“But away from that, we want to further warn that if His Excellency, the governor ever have any dealing with those former members, we, the original members of the 10th Assembly, who by the provisions of the Constitution, form the quorum to address the legislative business of the day, will have no choice than to raise the gavel, which is to commence impeachment proceedings against him.”
He, therefore, urged Fubara to cooperate and work in tandem with the legitimate members of the 10th Assembly to ensure the delivery of good governance and quality dividends of democracy to the people.
Meanwhile, the new Speaker was led to the plenary with the original mace of the Rivers State House of Assembly by the Sergeant-at-Arms, David Wariboko, who managed the last sitting of the Amaewhule-led Assembly in the same position.
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Gowon Was Used to Execute Unjust War Against lgbo, Should Seek God’s Forgiveness – Ohanaeze
Ohanaeze Ndigbo has faulted recent claims by former Military Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, that the Nigerian-Biafran civil war was not targeted at the Igbo people.
Gowon had said that, rather it was instead the secessionists who revolted against the Nigerian government in 1966.
But Ohanaeze insisted that such claims are not only gross misinformation but also a blatant misrepresentation of historical fact, while describing the representation as an affront to the collective memory and dignity of the Igbo nation.
The apex lgbo group noted that it is a moral obligation to address the pervasive biases and distorted narratives perpetuated by General Gowon, who, as a 91-year-old former military Head of State, was tragically manipulated by colonial powers and the Fulani oligarchy.
In a statement issued on Sunday by a factional Deputy President-General, Mazi Okechukwu Isiguzoro, Ohanaeze accused General Gowon of failure to protect the lives of Nigerians, especially the Igbos residing in the North during the crisis which led to the civil war.
The statement pointed out that unimaginable atrocities were committed against the Igbo people following the 1966 Northern riots, which pushed them into a position of strategic self-defence, a response to a war they did not initiate against the Nigerian government.
The statement partly read: “The grievous narrative that General Gowon has chosen to propagate must be corrected. History will judge Gowon harshly if he neglects this final opportunity to redeem himself by discarding the military mentality and outdated rhetoric of national unity.
“He must have the courage to disclose the truth about the influences that led him to abandon the Aburi Accord, a peace agreement that could have averted the tragic escalation of the Nigeria/Biafra War.
“Gowon’s military aggression toward the Igbo was not merely a reaction to secessionist desires but a strategically calculated action driven by British economic interests in the oil-rich Eastern region of Biafra and the retaliatory motives of the Fulani oligarchy.
The Igbo body added that God Almighty has granted General Gowon continued life for two significant purposes; first, to surrender to his conscience and seek God’s forgiveness, summoning his moral courage to openly confess his misdeeds and provide an accurate account of the Nigerian-Biafran war; second, to facilitate healing by leading efforts toward reconciliation and reconstruction for the Igbo people.
Ohaneze, however, said: “It is indeed lamentable that Gowon’s recent self-aggrandizing statements, possibly designed to sanitize his image, instead continue to perpetuate a façade that insults the deeply felt grievances of the Igbo nation.
“Rather than embrace this moment for personal and national healing, he has insulted the memories of the three million innocent Igbo civilians who lost their lives during the civil war.
“His military pride and an oath of silence have tormented him for over five decades, leading to a deeply personal struggle that he must now confront.
”Ohanaeze’s unwavering advice to General Gowon is straightforward and urgent; as time passes, he must cease his evasive tactics, confront his conscience, and abandon the falsehoods surrounding this grave chapter of Nigeria’s history.
“With only limited time remaining, it is imperative that he speaks the unvarnished truth and seeks forgiveness from the Igbo people and Nigerians at large.
“The curses resulting from the atrocities committed, such as the Asaba massacre, and the tragic toll of three million lives must be lifted.
“The painful repercussions of Gowon’s actions continue to resonate today, affecting even communities in the Middle Belt, where violence perpetrated by Fulani militias persists.
“This is a poignant moment for his associates to create yet another opportunity for him to come forward, unburden himself, and speak the truth.
“The world is watching and waiting for General Gowon to rise to the occasion for the sake of posterity,” the statement added.
Plateau State governor, Caleb Mutfwang, has described Nigeria’s lingering insecurity as a problem created and sustained by the country’s elite.
Speaking at a stakeholder meeting themed ‘Dialogue on Community Policing as a Panacea for Insecurity in Nigeria: The Case of Plateau State’, Mutfwang said the elite have contributed to deepening communal divisions and must take responsibility for reversing the trend.
“My theory is that, more than anybody else, the challenges of insecurity in Nigeria are an elite-created problem. When the elite conspires to lead the people in the wrong direction, we will continue to have this perennial crisis,” he said.
He noted that while the “poisoning of minds” may often start at the community level, the elite have the power to halt such narratives—if they choose to.
“Many a time, you’ll find that even when the poisoning of the mind begins in the community, when the elite take leadership and say it must stop, they’ll address it adequately and it will stop.
“But when the elite fan the embers of hate, they are the people that do their analysis, that begin to spew knowledge, information, and poison the minds of ordinary people—then it will be sustained,” he said.
Mutfwang urged Nigeria’s elite to take greater responsibility in promoting unity and peaceful coexistence.
He reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to dismantling “artificial barriers of faith and ethnicity,” which he argued have long hindered development in Plateau.
“As I stand before you today, I want to reiterate that I came into government with a firm resolve to restore lasting peace to Plateau. That is why I have deliberately sought to bridge the divides we’ve built across religion and ethnicity,” he stated.
Reflecting on his efforts, the governor claimed no administration in Plateau since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999 had done more than his in fostering peace and unity.
“Yet, as recent as yesterday, I received reports of being labelled in certain influential circles. Still, I beat my chest and say, without fear of contradiction, that I have done more than any governor since 1999 in building peace and unity on the Plateau,” he added.
His remarks come amid heightened insecurity in Plateau, Benue, and other northern states in recent months.
Former presidential candidate and Labour Party leader, Mr. Peter Obi, has condemned President Bola Tinubu’s trip to Saint Lucia, calling it an ill-timed and insensitive decision in the face of deepening national crises.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday, Obi said he was “struggling with my senses to understand what is happening to governance in this country.”
Tinubu departed Nigeria on Saturday, and is expected to visit Saint Lucia, attend BRICS summit in Brazil.
“What I have seen and witnessed in the last two years has left me in shock about poor governance delivery and apparent channelling of energy into politics and satisfaction of the elites, while the masses in our midst are languishing in want,” Obi declared.
“Without any twilight, Nigeria ranks among the most insecure places in the world. Nigerians are hungrier, and most people do not know where their next meal will come from.”
Obi expressed disbelief upon learning of the President’s departure to the Caribbean nation, especially coming shortly after what he described as a holiday in Lagos.
It read, “With such a gory picture of one’s country, you can imagine my bewilderment when I saw a news release from the Presidency announcing that President Bola Tinubu is departing Nigeria today for a visit to Saint Lucia in the Caribbean.”
Citing a press briefing by Saint Lucia’s Prime Minister, Philip J. Pierre, Obi noted that the visit included both official engagements and personal vacation.
“According to the Prime Minister’s announcement, ‘two of these days, June 30 and July 1, will be dedicated to an official visit, with the remainder of the trip set aside as a personal vacation,” he said.
Obi said he had initially dismissed the report as unbelievable: “I told the person who drew my attention to the Caribbean story that it cannot be true and that the President is just coming back from a holiday in Lagos.
“I didn’t want to believe that anybody in the position of authority, more so the President… would contemplate a leisure trip at this time.”
The former Anambra governor criticized the President’s failure to personally visit disaster-affected areas, including Minna in Niger State, where over 200 people were reportedly killed and 700 still missing due to flooding.
“This is a President going for leisure when he couldn’t visit Minna, Niger State where over two hundred lives were lost and over 700 persons still missing in a flood natural disaster,” Obi lamented.
He also condemned Tinubu’s recent visit to Makurdi, which he described as politicized.
Obi said, “The other state in crisis where over two hundred lives were murdered, the President yielded to public pressure and visited Makurdi… for what turned out to be a political jamboree than condolence as public holiday was declared and children made to line up to receive the President who couldn’t even reach the village, the scene of the brutal attack.”
Obi drew sharp comparisons between the size and population of Saint Lucia and the Nigerian cities neglected by the President.
“Makurdi is 937.4 Km², which is over 59% bigger than St Lucia, which is 617 km², and Minna is 6789 square kilometres, which is ten times bigger than St Lucia. St Lucia, with a population of 180,000, is less than half of Makurdi’s 489,839 and Minna, with 532,000 is almost three times the population of St Lucia,” Obi quoted his stats in the post.
Calling for leadership anchored in empathy and urgency, Obi said: “I don’t think the situation in this country today calls for leisure for anybody in a position of authority, more so the President, on whose desk the buck stops.
“This regime has repeatedly shown its insensitivity and lack of passion for the populace…”
He accused the administration of prioritizing elites over the masses.
“One had expected the President to be asking God for extra hours in a day for the challenges, but what we see is a concentration of efforts in the 2027 election and on satisfying the wealthy while the mass poor continues to multiply in number,” Obi’s tweet further read.
Concluding his fiery message, Obi urged national reflection and redirection.
He concluded, “Finally, I like to let our leaders know one thing: that the God-given resources of this country belong to all, not to a few.
“The time has come to put a stop to this drift before it consumes all and focus on pulling people out of poverty.”
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