Organised labour and civil society groups are planning a
showdown with the Federal Government should the crisis in
Rivers State remain intractable.
The warring fraction told reporters on Saturday
that the protests because of the breakdown of
law and order in the state.
The Presidncy has already washed its hands off the crisis in the
state after reports suggesting that the nation's number one
citizen and wife are inteffering in the matter.
A civil rights group, Anti-Corruption Network, on Saturday
threatened that the Presidency should prepare for the "Egyptian
treatment."
The organisation also gave the Inspector-General of Police, Mr.
Mohammed Abubakar, one week ultimatum to remove the Rivers
State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Joseph Mbu, over his alleged
role in the face-off between the Presidency and Governor Rotimi
Amaechi, failing which it would mobilise the masses and occupy
the Force Headquarters.
The Executive Secretary of the organisation and former member
of the House of Representatives, Mr. Dino Melaye, said this in a
statement titled; "Touch Amaechi, touch Nigeria" obtained by our
correspondent in Abuja.
He said, "What is going on in Rivers State is African magic. We
leave Amaechi's life in the hands of Mr. President and his wife.
We give the IGP one week to remove the Commissioner of Police
in Rivers State; failure to do so, we shall mobilise Nigerians like
never before to occupy the Force Headquarters in Abuja. The
President should get ready for the Egyptian treatment.
"Touch Amechi and touch Nigeria. The abuse of law and order by
both the anti-Amaechi legislators and the Nigerian Police is not
only disgraceful but will not be tolerated by the mass of the
people in this country. The Presidency cannot absolve itself from
this satanic manifestation. Who ordered the military withdrawal
from Rivers State Government House?"
Melaye said since the pressure group did not have another
country to call its own, "it will do everything within the confines
of the law to protect Nigeria's fragile democracy which the
President and his wife do not know how we got it."
He said, "Usurps will not kill democracy. The battle to safeguard
our democracy is a battle of no retreat, no surrender. President
Jonathan is behaving as if he has no legacy intentions. Try us and
see. I dare the Presidency. Enough is Enough."
Similarly, the state Chairman of the Trade Union Congress, Mr.
Chika Onuegbu, said the TUC was ready to join the NLC on an
indefinite strike.
Onuegbu called on Nigerians, including civil societies to join
labour in its effort to resolve the crisis in Rivers, stating that it
was "wrong for politicians to allow their antics to negatively affect
the lives of Nigerians that voted them into power."
Reacting to the calls for mass action, the Deputy Force Public
Relations Officer of the Nigeria Police, Mr. Frank Mba, told one of
our correspondents on Saturday that Nigerians were free to
protest if it was done legally.
"We are in a democratic society and people are free to hold
protests. However, it must be done within the confines of the law.
Law and order must not be broken down. Anyone that breaches
the law won't be allowed to go," he said.
Meanwhile, any attempt by President Goodluck Jonathan to
declare a state of emergency in the state is likely to hit a brick
wall in the National Assembly, SUNDAY PUNCH has learnt.
Senators and members of the House of Representatives who
spoke to our correspondents over the weekend declared they
would not approve a request for emergency rule should the
President forward one.
Eleven opposition governors, who are members of the Action
Congress of Nigeria, All Nigeria Peoples Party, Congress for
Progressive Change and All Progressives Grand Alliance, in a
statement on Thursday had said there was an "ill-disguised
attempt to create a state of emergency in Rivers State by plunging
the state into a needless and avoidable crisis."
The Governor of Niger State, Babangida Aliyu, had further alleged
that the Commissioner of Police in the state had become the
"governor of the state."
However, the Presidency through the Special Adviser to the
President on Political Matters, Ahmed Gulak, had denied the plan
to declare a state of emergency in the state.
But speculation has persisted that a state of emergency will soon
be declared in Rivers.
Speaking on Friday, the Senate Minority Whip, Senator Ganiyu
Solomon, said the Senate was neither contemplating nor planning
to suggest the declaration of a state of emergency in the state.
Solomon said, "The President cannot declare a state of
emergency on his own without the support of the National
Assembly.
"We are not contemplating a state of emergency in Rivers; this is
without prejudice to the expected report of the Senate committee
tasked to investigate the crisis in that state."
Also in Abuja, the Leader of the Senate, Senator Victor Ndoma-
Egba, told one of our correspondents that no one had
approached the upper legislature with a request for a state of
emergency to be declared in the troubled state.
Ndoma-Egba said, "We sent our committee on a fact-finding
mission. That is all we know at the moment. We are not aware of
any plans to declare a state of emergency in Rivers State.
"We have taken a position and we have to await the report of the
committee that we have assigned to investigate the matter."
On its part, the House of Representatives was categorical that it
would not support any move to declare a state of emergency in
the state.
Deputy Majority Leader of the House, Mr. Leo Ogor, told one of
our correspondents, "The situation in Rivers State does not call
for a state of emergency. We have not reached there yet and
there are no signs that we will reach there."
He argued that a disagreement between two factions of a state
legislature was not enough to warrant a state of emergency.
The House leader noted that the conditions for a state of
emergency were clearly defined under Section 305 of the 1999
Constitution (as amended).
The Senate Committee on States and Local Government, which
was mandated to investigate the crisis in Rivers State, has since
commenced work.

http://m.naij.com/news/40046.html

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