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Stop crying over spilt milk, you’re gone forever, Fubara camp tells Rivers G27
For the umpteenth time, the 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, were on Monday, told pointedly once again that their efforts to cling to their position after publicly declaring the defection to another party from the one under which they were elected on March 8, 2023, would come to naught.
The G27 members led by Martin Amaewhule , said to be loyal to Nyesom Wike, former Governor of the state and now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), had in one of their engagements in the heat of their confrontation with Siminalayi Fubara, the Governor, appeared in public with the announcement that they were moving into the All Progressives Congress (APC), from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the political party through which they were elected.
Against the backdrop of the back and forth engagement ever since, one of which is the alleged repudiation of their defection, the pro-Wike supporters had constantly been reminded that even if they denied ever taking the decision to become APC members, court papers in which they swore to that fact would always be there to contradict them.
This was the same point the five federal lawmakers from Rivers State who support Fubara emphasised on Monday when they told the G27 to stop parading themselves as members of the Rivers Assembly, during a solidarity visit to the Victor Oko-Jumbo-led Assembly that did not defect.
During the visit, which came barely a week after pro-Wike federal lawmakers paid a similar call to the Amaewhule-led Assembly, the pro-Fubara NASS members included Awaji-Inombek Abiante (Andoni-Opobo/Nkoro), Boma Goodhead (Akuku-Toru/Asari-Toru), Boniface Emerengwa (Ikwerre/Emohua), Allison Anderson Igbiks (Okrika/Ogu-Bolo), and Manuchim Umezuruike (Port Harcourt Federal Constituency 1), were emphatic that the fate of the G27 members was already sealed.
Abiante, who spoke on behalf of the delegation stated that their visit was to provide clarity and counter misinformation by their counterparts, carpeted their pro-Wike colleagues, saying that their remarks raised concerns about the integrity of the Rivers NASS caucus, while reassuring the Oko-Jumbo-led Assembly that they were not alone, as millions of Rivers people stood with them.
Accusing them of misleading the public rather than clarifying issues in the true picture, Abiante, who emphasised that “a lie not rebutted could become the truth,” rejected claims by the pro-Wike lawmakers that a judgment by Justice James Kolawole Omotosho validated the legitimacy of the Amaewhule group.
Arguing rather that the ruling made no such pronouncement and reiterating that the 27 affected lawmakers voluntarily defected in December 2023, thereby losing their seats, he cited Supreme Court rulings in similar cases from Plateau and Ondo states, which he said was on all fours with the Rivers situation, where the courts made wasted no time stating that defection meant outright forfeiture of positions.
He also recalled the position of Walter Onnoghen former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) in Dapialong v. Dariye, which established that an Assembly could function with its remaining members until vacancies were filled, regretting that the actions of the G27, were not only bringing disgrace to legislative practices in Nigeria but beyond.
To him, the attempt by Amaewhule and his colleagues to recant their defection, was quite laughable as they had affidavits confirming their move, adding that the legal battle over the 2024 budget controversy had become irrelevant as the year had already progressed beyond the contested matters.
While reaffirming that Fubara would not act outside the law, he called on President Bola Tinubu, the National Judicial Council, and the Inspector General of Police, to ignore the misrepresentation of facts by Amaewhule and his group.
Oko-Jumbo commended, while welcoming the visitors and vowing to lead the Assembly without fear, reemphasised that the state government remained focused on governance and development rather than political distractions, as the visit had rekindled the Assembly’s confidence, adding: “The 27 lawmakers are gone.”
Nigeria would not be in the sort of socio-political and economic mess it is currently facing but for the cowardice of the present crop of governors, Rotimi Amaechi, former governor of Rivers state, said on Tuesday, saying the country needed courageous leadership at the state levels to confront the ugly situation.
As chairman at the public presentation of Sule Lamido’s autobiography titled: Being True To Myself, written by Sule Lamido, former Governor of Jigawa State, Amaechi, who later became a two-time Minister of Transportation under President Muhammadu Buhari, bewailed the parlous political situation where governors could no longer speak for the people.
Stressing the timidity of his successors, the former governor, who was apparently miffed at the rate at which opposition governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), were defecting to the ruling APC, in spite the parlous economic situation in the country, he said such a crisis would never have been allowed during his own time.
Amaechi, who was chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) during Lamido’s second term, but eventually defected to the APC to lead the campaign for the election of Buhari, told his audience: “I asked you (Lamido) this morning, what is going on currently in the country, in Nigerian politics — would it have happened when we were governors?
“You said no. And the answer is no. We would confront the government, confront the President. That’s how radical we were, that’s how our governors forum operated, that’s how determined we were to change things.”
Dwelling on his relationship with the ex-Jigawa governor, who was in office between 2007 and 2015, Amaechi said their working relationship was strong, despite occasional disagreements — including Lamido’s initial objection to his election as NGF chairman.
“We were quite good friends in government. We had our bad times when we disagreed. I made the mistake of assuming he was as radical as I was. So, he was one of the governors I clung to when it came to radical decisions. The last one before we broke ranks was when we all agreed to go against President Jonathan. We formed a committee of governors and others.
“At the end of the day, he went to find a new party, the SDP. We said, ‘If we go to the SDP, we will lose the election. Let’s hang on to this one called the APC.’ He disagreed and left us. That’s where we parted ways. You must never forget the battles we fought.”
“There is no question that there are huge challenges. But if you look at the balance sheet that this President inherited — massive liabilities arising from the very reckless misuse of ways and means — you’d understand why these steps were necessary.”
These were the exact words of Adams Oshiomhole, Senator, representing Edo North at the National Assembly on the state of the Nigerian economy, expressing confidence that the way the President was going, it would not be long before the parlous situation would experience a marked improvement.
Oshiohmole, former Governor of Edo State and former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who was a guest of Politics Today, a public affairs progromme on Channels Television, said on Tuesday, Nigerians were justified to feel unhappy over the rising cost of living and the closure of businesses since the removal of fuel subsidy in 2023, but urged them to be patient and maintain trust in the reforms.
He added: “It’s a work in progress. The surgeon has gone to carry out the surgery. He understands that there is a level of pain — there has to be pain. But the good news is that the patient is healing. Maybe he could heal faster, but there can be no question that the patient is healing.”
Stressing on the issue of the exchange rate unification as a painful but critical decision to align supply with demand, he warned that failure to do so could have plunged the country into a Zimbabwe-like economic collapse, adding: “The consequential increase in cost of living was predictable. But if that was not done, Nigeria was on its way to Zimbabwe.
“President Tinubu deliberately chose to make all the difficult but necessary decisions in his first term to pave the way for long-term recovery. He took the right decision by insisting that in the first term, he would take all the tough decisions — prayerfully — so that as we move on, the situation improves.
“There is no magic to governance. I don’t think any Nigerian who understands the macroeconomic environment that was inherited by this government would expect that, in 24 months, everything would be fixed. Truly, this economy was badly mismanaged. This is not to blame anyone, but to speak to fact. I can say the worst is over, and we are going to begin to witness improvements in standard of living.
“As a governor, it took me time to have a holistic view of the challenges I inherited and to decide, in terms of priority, what to do first. As a Nigerian, I live in the community and among the people. I can say that there is a level of hardship, but things are improving.”
“Given where we are today in the economy, Tinubu will still win the presidential election. The President eliminated an exploitative foreign exchange regime that previously benefited only a privileged few. Tinubu abolished the ‘benefit of exchange rate’ transfer to bureau de change. Today, what he gets in exchange rate is what I get. Eliminating that free rate — which was available to a few people connected with the CBN management — took courage.”
Senate on Wednesday brushed aside the objections of Abdul Ningi, Senator representing Bauchi South at the National Assembly to commence acerated hearing on a whopping ₦1.783 trillion statutory appropriation bill for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The bill for the appropriation of the amount, came through President Bola Tinubu to the Senate in charge of making laws for the FCT, urging them to approve the proposal for the 2025 financial year.
Shortly after reading the letter transmitting the proposal, the upper chamber on Wednesday, harkened to the request of the President to give the bill expedited consideration, noting that its passage was critical to ensuring an effective and service-oriented administration for residents of the FCT.
But an attempt by the Bauchi Senator, elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to halt debates on it pending when the members were abreast of the details was ignored as the Senate invoked Order 78 to allow the bill to scale second reading the same day it was introduced.
Palpably dissatisfied, Ningi, who was once suspended for questioning the financial integrity of the Senate, had raised concerns about the procedure under Order 77 (3 and 4), pointing out that lawmakers had not been provided with copies of the bill prior to the debate.
Leading the debate on the bill, after the objections were brushed aside, Opeyemi Bamidele, Senate Leader, explained that the proposed legislation seeks to authorise the issuance of ₦1,783,823,708,392.00 trillion from the FCT Administration’s Statutory Revenue Fund to finance personnel, overhead, and capital expenditures between January 1 and December 31, 2025.
The budget breakdown includes N150.35 billion for personnel costs, N343.78 billion for overhead, and N1.29 trillion allocated for capital projects.
Bamidele underscored that the primary objective of the budget was to drive an effective and enduring service-oriented administration, with a strong focus on completing ongoing projects that have significant impacts on infrastructure and essential services in Abuja.
He noted that the budget prioritises the continuation of existing projects in the FCT, with the introduction of new ones deemed crucial.
It was on the same day that the Senate also confirmed the appointment of five Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) submitted by the President in March for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The confirmation, which followed the receipt and consideration of a report by Simon Lalong, Chairman of Senate Committee on Electoral Matters during plenary on Wednesday, who urged members to confirm the nominees having passed the screening exercise.
The approved RECs are Umar Yusuf Garba (Kano State), Sa’ad Umar Idris (Bauchi State), Chukwuemeka C. Ibeziako (Anambra State), Umar Mukhtar (Borno State) and Dr. Johnson Alalibo Sinikiem (Bayelsa State).
Tinubu having his way because today’s governors are cowards – Amaechi
Tinubu almost clearing Buhari’s economic mess – Oshomhole
Wike to get N1.78trillion as 2025 budget *Senate ignores Ningi’s objection
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