THERE
was pandemonium on Tuesday, as members of the Rivers State House of
Assembly engaged in a bloody clash when the group of five lawmakers
stormed the assembly to actualise the removal of the Speaker of the
Assembly, Honourable Otelema Dan-Amachree.A number of items in the assembly, including computers and the mace, got damaged during the fracas, while bloodstains were visible on the walls of a portion of the assembly.
Armed policemen and soldiers were drafted to the complex while the convoy of the deputy governor, Tele Ikuru, was attacked.
Ikuru was at the assembly to present the 2013 budget amendment bill when the fracas started.
Trouble sparked off as eight members of the assembly, including the five anti-Amaechi members and three of the 27 pro-Amaechi lawmakers, including Dan-Amachree; leader, Chidi Lloyd and Azubuike Wanjoku, gathered in the Assembly complex on Tuesday.
Honourable Evans Bakapaye Bipi, however, sparked off the row when he landed a slap on Lloyd’s face as he attempted to greet him.
Bipi was immediately challenged by another member, Wanjoku, who asked him why he had to go to the extent of slapping a colleague.
Again, Bipi wanted to hit Wanjoku but he dodged the blow and threw Bipi on the floor.
As he rose from the floor, Bipi went for a camera tripod which he used to hit whoever was in sight.
The situation apparently led to the intervention of some suspected thugs hanging around the assembly complex.
When the fracas subsided, one of the five anti-Amaechi lawmakers, Victor Ihunwo, assumed the position of speaker pro-tempore and another member, Martins Amaehule, moved the motion for the impeachment of Dan-Amachree, after which Kelechi Nwogu nominated Bipi as the new speaker, a move supported by other four lawmakers present in the assembly.
However, some pro-Amaechi lawmakers again made their way into the assembly, while Lloyd grabbed the mace with which the four anti-Amaechi lawmakers were conducting their affairs.
He also went after members of the pro-Amaechi lawmakers, who returned to the complex at the point when Bipi was to give his acceptance speech, and the free-for all continued.
By the time the dust would settle, three members of the assembly, including Lloyd, Martins Amahule and Okechukwu Chindah, had been injured, with Chindah reportedly receiving treatment at the Intensive Care Unit of a private clinic in Port Harcourt.
Ikuru, who presented the 2013 amendment budget to the group of 23 lawmakers loyal to Governor Rotimi Amaechi was attacked by suspected thugs, who had invaded the assembly premises.
On his way out of the complex, the thugs, chanting war songs, gathered round his convoy, singing in support of Bipi.
On sighting him, they descended on his convoy, while his official car was badly damaged.
While addressing newsmen, Bipi said he was the speaker of the assembly, adding that there would be no reconciliation with the 27 other members since they did not belong to the same party.
“I want to assure Rivers State people that the new order has come. I am now Right Honourable Speaker, Evans Bapakaye Bipialaka,” he said.
Giving his account of the event, Lloyd said he was attacked by two of his colleagues without provocation.
“Nigerians should pray for me and come to our aid. The state is under siege. You can’t even vouch for the safety of the governor. The people are getting more dashed out on a daily basis,” he said.
At a press briefing session, Dan-Amachree, said there was no way four members could impeach the speaker of a 32-member assembly
Seated with 23 members at the briefing, Dan-Amachree said the assembly was governed by rules and regulations, adding that the leadership would sit to deliberate on the events of Tuesday subsequently.
“As far as this House is concerned, the leadership has not changed. I am the speaker of Rivers State House of Assembly and all the other officers and the clerk are here with me. The leadership is intact and what Evans Bipi told you is pure fallacy, lie.
“When we get to the bridge, we will know how to cross it. But every member knows that we have rules and regulations that guide us in our conduct. I will not say anything yet, but the leadership and members will meet and decide on that,” he said.
Also reacting, the state Police Commissioner, Joseph Mbu, denied giving support to a faction in the assembly during Tuesday’s impeachment drama.
The police commissioner, who spoke at the state police headquarters on Tuesday evening, confirmed that he got a letter from the clerk demanding police protection for the day’s sitting.
He said he initially did not take the request serious, reasoning that they had never needed such assistance in the past.
He, however, said he had a rethink after he got a letter from the Brigade Commander of the 2 Amphibious Brigade, Port Harcourt Barracks, asking him to provide personnel for the sitting.
The police commissioner said he later saw that the assembly complex had been flooded with security operatives.
Meanwhile, the Rivers State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has congratulated Bipi for winning the confidence of his colleagues who chose him as the speaker.
In a statement signed by the state publicity secretary of the party, Monday Oyenzeowu, it called on members in the state to be law abiding.
“By the unanimous election of the new speaker, the state lawmakers have, once again, demonstrated the unity and sense of purpose that characterised the chamber before the crisis.
“The party expressed optimism that the normal proceedings which had been stalled for months now, due to executive interruption, will now pick up with the new leadership,” the statement said.
The party also felicitated with other principal officers of the assembly elected alongside Bipi and wish them smooth and successful outing.
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