Some elders and leaders of Rivers State have cautioned Governor Siminalayi Fubara to shelve any plan to tamper with structures at the House of Assembly quarters located along Aba Road, Port Harcourt.
The elders, including members of the National Assembly, local government chairmen and opinion leaders, gave the warning yesterday, in Port Harcourt, after visiting the complex.
Recall that Fubara had visited the Assembly quarters at the heat of the political crisis in the state.
The lawmakers, who converted part of the complex to their sitting venue, had vetoed Fubara and enacted the amendment of the local council law, and the public procurement law, among others.
There are speculations that the governor may demolish the quarters in disguise of embarking on renovation exercises.
Confirming the speculations, the Speaker, Martins Amaewhule, informed the elders during the visit that there is a grand plot by the governor to bring down the structures the same way he ordered the demolition of the House of Assembly Complex to stop them from sitting.
The Speaker contested that the structures were in good condition, fully functional and were currently occupied by the lawmakers and their family members.
He said: “We have also brought in experts, and engineers, and there is nothing wrong with these structures. They are fully in use and fully functional. All the experts confirmed to us that this building is one of the best in the entire West Africa.
“This complex was constructed by the former Governor, Nyesom Wike, and inaugurated in August 2022 by the current Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila. We are happy with the building and everything is working well.
“We didn’t write to the governor and we didn’t invite him. We didn’t ask for his help, because we don’t need it. We didn’t need his intervention in any way. Any attempt to talk about reconstruction or demolition is an assault on democracy and an assault on members resident in these buildings.”
He also argued that the governor has no right to make any executive order directing lawmakers where to hold their sitting.
Citing the judgment of Justice Kolawole Omotosho, the Speaker described the governor’s actions as a flagrant violation of orders of the Federal High Court, none of which, he said, had been vacated.
In contrast, the leader of Rivers Elders Forum, Anabs Sara-Igbe, said that the governor, as the chief custodian of the state, has the right to visit any part of the state at any given time.
“I had expected them to use the opportunity of the governor’s visit to make peace with him. The governor’s presence at the Assembly quarters, where they live, would have been an opportunity to interact and make peace rather than going about insinuating what does not exist.”
