From Alice Onukwugha, Port Harcourt

The political crisis rocking Rivers State may be far from coming to an end as the Caretaker Committee Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the State, Chief Tony Okocha said the lawmakers who recently defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to APC will commence impeachment proceedings on the state Governor, Sir Siminilayi Fubara.

This is even coming as the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Rivers State, Prof.

Adangor’s resignation may not be unconnected with the crisis as a result of irreconcilable differences between former governor and FCT Minister, Chief Nyesom Wike and his successor, Fubara.

Adangor, who is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), served in the administration of Wike from 2018 to 2023, after the death of Emmanuel Aguma who was former AG, before he was reappointed to serve in the current executive cabinet under Fubara.

In a letter dated November 14, 2023, addressed to the governor through the Secretary to State Government (SSG), the former AG, said his resignation was for personal reasons and thanked Fubara for his appointment.

The letter read in part: “I hereby give Your Excellency notice of my resignation as Honourable Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Rivers State with effect from the date of this letter.

“For avoidance of doubt, my resignation from the said office is based purely on personal principles.

“I wish to thank Your Excellency for the opportunity and privilege granted me to serve in your administration as a member of the cabinet.

“My family and I are indebted to your Excellency in gratitude.”

Meanwhile, APC Acting Caretaker Chairman in Rivers State, Okocha, told newsmen in Abuja that the party will do everything possible to protect the 27 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmakers who defected to the APC.

He insisted that the defected lawmakers will sit elsewhere to make decisions since they are in possession of the mace, which is the symbol of authority.

Okocha, who also represents Rivers State on the Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), stated that the APC will petition Justice M.W. Danagogo before the National Judicial Council (NJC) for issuing the interim order upon which the governor proceeded to demolish the Assembly structure.

“Although I am not a member of the state House of Assembly, impeachment is a democratic process. Impeachment is not a coup d’etat.

“So, we are telling the governor that he cannot thrive on illegality, we will petition the judge before the National Judicial Council (NJC) for giving that jankara order against our members.

“So we want to appeal to our party to join us to defend our members who are being ill-treated by the Rivers House of Assembly.

“You cannot place something on nothing and you expect it to stand.  Illegality is illegal. Let me also let you know that what makes an assembly is not the structure, but the human beings in that assembly.

“So, an assembly can be moved to anywhere, provided the mace which is its symbol of authority is there. As at yesterday, about 27 members sat and took far-reaching decisions on state matters.”

“We will fight illegality, we will not allow illegality to fester in our state. It is our duty now to defend our 27 members who are members of the State Assembly,” the APC state chairman said.

He further stated that the defection of the lawmakers was in line with the mandate given the party by the National Secretariat, to reach out to members of opposition parties in the state, saying he was already wooing the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike to cross over.

He therefore, appealed to Wike to come to the assistance of the party in the state.

“I have wooed him personally, we have told him publicly to come over and help us. He is a political juggernaut not just in Rivers, but in Nigeria at large.

“He is a force, and that is why we won the presidential election after losing the three senatorial seats and all the State House of Assembly members,” he stated.

However, the Rivers State governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara has assented to the N800.3 billion naira appropriation bill which was considered by the State House of Assembly loyal to him on Wednesday.

The governor signed the 2024 Appropriation Bill at the conference room of the governor’s office, at the Government House, Port Harcourt on Thursday.

Speaking, Fubara reiterated the commitment of his administration to carrying judiciously utilise the monies for infrastructural development in the state.

He further assured that with the budget now signed into law, his administration would undertake notable critical road projects like the phase 2 of the Trans-Kalabari road and the Elele-Omoku road projects.

The budget was signed in the presence of the state cabinet and other stakeholder, including, the Deputy Governor, Prof. Ngozi Odu, members of the State Executive Council, the House Speaker, Rt Hon Edison Ehie, former and present lawmakers who have thrown their weight and support the governor, as well as a number of Local Government Areas (LGA) chairmen of the PDP.

Meanwhile, reactions have started trailing the resignation of Adangor.

A civil rights crusader and social commentator, Prince Wiro, while reacting to the development, posited that it was in the best interest of the former attorney general and the state.

He said: “For me, the Attorney General of the State has done what is right. It is better to resign than to involve yourself with a political crisis that is affecting the general wellbeing of the state. Because as it is now, nobody knows how that crisis will end.

So it’s good that he resigns so that at the end of the day he will not be part of the crisis indirectly or unknowingly.”

Wiro, who is the National Coordinator Centre for Basic Rights Protection and Accountability Campaign, said, as a professor, Adangor, would not want his name to be dragged into the mucky waters of the Rivers State political space, hence his decision to resign.

He said until the former Attorney General comes up with a different reason, it is only right that the reasons averred by him in the resignation letter be taken.

“You know that the attorney general is a professor, he is well read and would not want his name to be associated with some crisis in the state so that posterity will not be harsh to him.

“I think that there is nothing wrong, if he can no longer continue with the government for him to resign”, he posited.

On whether Adangor’s decision has anything to do with his allegiance to Wike, the human rights activist said; “I read the resignation letter. For now, all those ones are just assumptions and we cannot conclude that it’s because he does not want to hurt Wike. Whatever it is, he has the right to resign if he thinks he does not want to continue with the government considering the political happenings in the state.

“Until he states otherwise, that he resigned because of his allegiance to former governor Wike, for now, let us take him by what he said in the resignation letter.”