“As I was doing this piece, I was
watching the AIT showing the celebration of the phantom victory of Chief
Nyesome Wike and PDP members. I wondered if those participating in the
celebration were aware of the reputation of Governor Amaechi as regards his
political struggles and the usual outcome after he must have been written off
by the uninformed. To me the PDP victory celebration is a celebration in the
moon as it will take only few weeks for both Chief Wike and his PDP followers
to face the reality that you cannot cover the sun with a finger”.
The
2015 Macabre Elections in Rivers State: Amaechi’s Magic Wand to the Rescue
•His
battle to turn the table on Wike and PDP
By EZE CHUKWUEMEKA EZE
Preamble
and political life
Trying to capture the
picture of the sham that is called the 2015 general elections in Rivers State,
South-South of Nigeria, I lacked the words to capture what happened but Dictonary.com
came to my aid with the word ‘macabre’,
which it defined as gruesome and
horrifying; ghastly; horrible. The elections in Rivers State is the kind of
stuff you read about in a James Hardly Chase novel and even the Africa Magic
films could not have done anything near the horror that took place in Rivers
State on March 28th and April 11th, 2015, during which 19 human
beings were murdered like chicken and some beheaded.
As I was contemplating
about these elections after watching several of the PDP victory celebrations on
most of the television networks in Nigeria, my mind went back to one of the key
actors (RT. HON. CHIBUIKE ROTIMI
AMAECHI) in these actions who once stated that the 2015 elections in Rivers
State is all about him and his feats in Rivers State. I started to wonder what
type of chance this Amaechi and his party, APC, have against the type of
seasoned bulldozers and betrayers, all conjuring and accomplished
politicians that I saw backing Chief Nyesome Wike, the Governor-elect,
according to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi and President-elect Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd)
In my wonderment, I
researched on the mystery behind this man (CHIBUIKE ROTIMI AMAECHI) addressed
in some quarters as the Lion of the Niger Delta Politics and came to the
conclusion that it was too early for the PDP to start any form of celebration
because their chief opponent in the person of Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi
is a person that is gifted in turning the table when it seems highly impossible
to do so. It is my findings about the past struggles and successes of this
consummate politician that I intend to share with you. After the presentation,
you can then understand why I said that it was too early for Chief Wike and his
group to embark upon any form of celebration.
Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi and former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.
In my studies, Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia, came
to my aid with the appropriate word to describe this man whose impact in the
politics of Nigeria is infectious: ‘Audacity’, which it described as boldness, bravery, courage and daring.
Sir
Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, a British politician,
was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 and from 1951 to
1955. Widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the 20th
century, Churchill was also an officer in the British Army, a historian, a
writer, and an artist. He is the only British Prime Minister in history to have
received the Nobel Prize in Literature, and was also the first person to be
made an Honorary Citizen of the United States. According to this great man, “There
is no limit to the ingenuity of man if it is properly and vigorously applied
under conditions of peace and justice.” In another breath; he stated:
“Battles are won by slaughter and manoeuvre. The greater the general, the more
he contributes in manoeuvre, the less he demands in slaughter.” After
tasting great wars and the results of diplomacy this great statesman declared
and I quote, “To jaw-jaw is always better than to war-war.”
PROFILING
RT. HON. CHIBUIKE ROTIMI AMAECHI, CON
Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi
was born in Ubima, Ikwerre Local Government Area
of Rivers State, to the family of late Elder Fidelis Amaechi and Mrs Mary
Amaechi. University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) in Rivers State was where
Amaechi laid the foundation of his political life, participating actively in
student union politics, especially in the National Union of Rivers State
Students (NURSS), of which he was President, and the National Association of
Nigerian Students (NANS). After graduation, he cut his teeth in politics as
Secretary of the now defunct National Republican Convention (NRC) in Ikwerre
Local Government Area of Rivers State from 1992 to 1994. He was Special
Assistant to Dr. Peter Odili, the then Deputy Governor of Rivers State, and
also a member of the Board of West Africa Glass Industry as well as Risonpalm
Nigeria Limited. He was Secretary of the Caretaker Committee of the Rivers
State Chapter of the disbanded Democratic Party of Nigeria (DPN) in 1996 during
the transition programme of the General Sani Abacha junta.
In 1999, Amaechi
contested and won a seat to become a member of the Rivers State House of
Assembly to represent his constituency. He was subsequently elected Speaker of
the House of Assembly as well as Chairman of Nigeria’s Conference of Speakers
of State Assemblies. He was re-elected into the State House of Assembly in May
2003 and equally re-elected Speaker. A Master’s Degree holder, Amaechi’s
assumption of office as Governor based on a Supreme Court judgement after PDP
dumped him despite his convincingly winning the party’s gubernatorial ticket,
remains a mystery to many political watchers in the country. By May 29th, 2015
Amaechi would have spent eight years as Governor of Rivers State. He is
currently Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF). His unprecedented
feats in the transformation of Rivers State have won him many international and
local awards as well as the respect of great world and Nigerian leaders
Amaechi was the
rallying force behind mobilising the governors under PDP to support the
presidential aspiration of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan during the PDP Presidential
Primaries that produced Jonathan as the PDP flag-bearer and during the 2011
presidential election proper ensured that President Jonathan got over 2 million
votes from Rivers State – the highest by any State in Nigeria. A misunderstood
but an amiable personality; his forthrightness and boldness to stand by the
truth attracts so much enemies to him, particularly those who cannot withstand
his manner of approach to result-oriented feats. His numerous ‘sins’ will be highlighted
later.
Chibuike Amaechi holds
the National honour of the Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON), is a
Christian Catholic and a Knight of St John. Amaechi was appointed the Director-General of the All Progressives
Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign and led the party to
win the March 28th Presidential election of Nigeria in which a
sitting President was roundly defeated for the first time.
Unravelling
the Mystery and Political Struggles of a Misunderstood Politician
Now that I have stated
the political life of Rt. Hon. Chibuike Roimi Amaechi, let me now come to the
main treatise of this study, which is to unravel the mystery and political
struggles of this misunderstood politician in Nigeria and how it will affect
the outcome of the 2015 macabre elections in Rivers State.
An outsider to the
politics of Rivers State may conclude that the odds are against Governor
Amaechi and APC as a political party to succeed in Rivers State. However, after
closely watching and studying Rt. Hon. Amaechi, I have come to the conclusion
that this man does not achieve his political feats on a platter of gold but
through the hard way and most of the time through the law courts. It was the
disillusionment I noticed in some Nigerians regarding what happened in Rivers
State that informed this attempt to expose or rather unravel the hard road that
Gov Amaechi must to go through in his political journey and I wish to declare
that the 2015 macabre elections imbroglio cannot be an exemption.
AMAECHI’S
POLITICAL STRUGGLES THROUGH THE COURTS
1. 1999 State House of Assembly Election
Signs of the mission of
Governor Amaechi in the politics of Nigeria started when FEDECO, the then
electoral umpire, announced Barr. Uche Okwukwu of the defunct APP winner of the
State House of Assembly election of the Ikwerre Constituency in place of
Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi of PDP. Amaechi contested this at the then Election
Tribunal and the Court of Appeal and won and was subsequently sworn-in as the
member of State House of Assembly representing Ikwerre Constituency. This began
his political struggles through the courts. Reacting to this, Barr. Uche
Okwukwu stated: “Yes, I contested against the present Governor, Rt. Hon.
Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi. Like I said, the Court of Appeal said I didn’t win and
I should not be in the Rivers State House of Assembly. So, as a lawyer, by my
training, I have since accepted the verdict of the court, particularly, when
you do not have the right to appeal beyond that point.”
2. Fight over the Control of the Local Government Affairs Between the
National Assembly and State House of Assembly
In 2003, Governor
Amaechi came up with another feat through the courts. When the National
Assembly moved to hijack the legislative functions of the State House of
Assembly as enshrined in the constitution, he led his colleagues to take
the matter to Nigeria’s Supreme Court and the court gave a judgment that the
control and supervision of local government is the prerogative of the State
House of Assembly.
3. PDP Leadership and its Undemocratic Suspension of Gov. Amaechi from the
Party
When the PDP national
leadership undemocratically decided to suspend Governor Amaechi from the party
without any sound reason on 27th May, 2013 and was to follow it up
with expulsion, he resorted to the courts once again to stop them from taking
any further step on his case until he decided to join APC. The suspension of
Amaechi from the party was agreed during an unscheduled and unusually early
morning meeting of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party at the
residence of the then National Chairman, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur. The meeting
commenced at 8:00 a.m. and came two days ahead of the regular meeting of the
NWC, which normally holds on Wednesdays. It was also three days after Amaechi
beat the odds with his re-election as chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum
(NGF). He had been allegedly opposed by the PDP Governors’ Forum (PDP-GF) ahead
of the election.
The governor’s
suspension was hinged on what the party described as his refusal to order the
reinstatement of members of the Obio Akpor Local Government executive who were
suspended from office on the orders of the
Rivers State House of Assembly upon allegations of corruption raised against
the LG executive. Hours after the suspension was announced, the party at a
press conference said that it had constituted a committee headed by Mr. Joe
Gadzama, SAN, to probe allegations raised against Amaechi. Other members of the
committee were PDP National Legal Adviser, Victor Kwon; Inalegwu Onche, Friday
Nwosu, Udorji Amedu, Ola Kukuyi, Wakil Mohammed, Yusuf Jangwe, Mrs. Bola
Doherty, Mr. Tanimu Adamson and Anicho Okoro as Secretary.
Reacting to his
suspension during an interactive session with youths of the state, Amaechi
asked: “Who has power to suspend Obio/Akpor council? Now you see political
witch-hunting; it is so ridiculous, my party must rise above political
witch-hunting. The Governor did not suspend Obio/Akpor council, I hope you
know. My power is to dissolve and remit it to the House of Assembly, but I have
not done that yet, what the Assembly has said is ‘we are investigating
corruption’ then the party says we should not investigate corruption, is that
fair?” He went further to state that the NWC issued a press statement to
suspend him without any invitation and fair hearing. His words: “I was not
invited by the National Working Committee of PDP, I was not given fair hearing.
What I heard was ‘why did I refuse to reinstate the suspended Obio/Akpor
Council executive? Who suspended them?’ His questions received the enthusiastic
response of the youths who chorused: “The Rivers State House of Assembly.”
Again the governor asked, ‘who has the power to investigate Obio/Akpor council
executive?” The youths again replied: “The State Assembly.”
It was this suspension
of Governor Amaechi from PDP not minding all that he did to uplift the party
that started the decimation of PDP and its reduction from a ruling national
political party to an opposition regional political party.
4. The Intrigues in the Appointment of Justice Agumagu as the Chief Judge
of Rivers State
The indefatigable and
indomitable Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi recently started another legal
battle but this time with the National Judicial Council (NJC). Like other cases
involving Governor Amaechi, this case is unprecedented in the annals of
judicial adjudication and Nigerians are watching with keen interest to see how
he may win it.
Based on the Federal
High Court ruling approving Justice Peter Nwoke Chukwuma Agumagu as the Chief
Judge of Rivers State, Amaechi supervised his formal swearing-in ceremony.
However, after few days, the NJC came up with a verdict suspending the newly
appointed Chief Judge, this again is unprecedented in the history of
appointment of Chief Judges in any other State in Nigeria.
Before his appointment
as the State’s new Chief Judge, Justice P. N. C. Agumagu was the first ever
President of the Rivers State Customary Court of Appeal. He is an
administrator, a former state High Court Judge and the seventh the new Chief
Judge of Rivers State.
On 27th
March, 2014 – to the shock of both the Governor and close watchers of events in
Rivers State – the NJC suspended Justice P. N. C. Agumagu from office and
directed that he should, within four days, explain in writing why he should not
be sacked as a judicial officer. The Council, which took the decision at the
end of an emergency meeting in Abuja, said it suspended the Rivers CJ over his
failure to abide by the Oath of Office he took to uphold the Constitution and
Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
According to Acting
Director of Information at the NJC, Mr. Soji Oye, in a press statement: “At its
10th Emergency Meeting, which was held on March 26, 2014, the National Judicial
Council under the Chairmanship of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon. Justice
Aloma Mariam Muktar (GCON), considered the purported appointment, confirmation
and swearing-in of Hon. Justice P. N. C. Agumagu as the substantive Chief Judge
of Rivers State on March 18, 2014.
“In the meantime,
Council in exercise of its powers under Paragraph 21 (d) of Part 1 of the Third
Schedule of the 1999 Constitution has suspended Justice Agumagu from
office as a judicial officer with immediate effect.”
Reacting to all the
brouhaha, a UK-based Social Commentator, Emeka Reuben Okala, stated, and I
quote: “I join other Nigerians to congratulate the articulate Governor of
Rivers State, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, on the battle well fought and
job well done on this issue. In all of these, Amaechi clearly stands on the
pedestal of truth and that’s the magic behind his countless victories. Keep the
flag flying, Mr. Governor, you are clearly on the right side of history. Kudos!
To Justice PNC Agumagu, I say congratulations! Your appointment as the
Chief Judge of Rivers State is richly deserved. Knowing you as I do, the
Judiciary under your leadership will have a lot to benefit. We look forward to
your good services.”
On his part,
Nebukadineze Adiele, a well respected online Social Commentator, stated as
follows: “The idea that a customary court judge could not be appointed a Chief
Judge of a state was thoughtlessness taken too far. The NJC shamed itself by
practically dictating to the governor as to who to appoint CJ. Kudos to Amaechi
for standing firm on his belief and for trusting the judiciary into resolving
this matter. His tenacity over this matter is a public service to other
governors and future governors. A timid governor would have buckled when
pressured from all angles to not appoint Justice Agumagu as Chief Judge of
Rivers state. I am both a fan and a critic of Chibuike Amaechi – I support him
when he gets things right and I get on his case when he goofs. On the
appointment of Justice Agumagu as Rivers state Chief Judge, Governor Chibuike
Amaechi showed tremendous courage under fire and his action will remain as
revolutionary (over judicial appointments in Nigeria) as the circumstances he
overcame in becoming governor. That the most senior judge in the state should
have been denied appointment into the Chief Judgeship, simply because he was a
customary court judge, would have been blatantly discriminatory, stupid, and
legally not justifiable. There are instances when one cannot help but admire
Chibuike Amaechi’s confidence and convictions. This is one such instance.”
5. Challenge to the Transfer of Rivers State Oil Wells to Akwa Ibom State
As the serving Governor
of Rivers State, Amaechi caused his Attorney-General to challenge the transfer
of some oil wells from Rivers State to Akwa Ibom State. The Supreme Court
eventually ruled in favour of Rivers State in that case.
6. The Most Celebrated Supreme Court ruling on Governor Amaechi
A lot of articles and
statements were written following the ‘k-leg’ episode that was the outright
hijack of the 2007 PDP gubernatorial ticket from Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi
Amaechi ahead of the 14th April, 2007 election in Rivers State. This occurred
despite his landslide victory at the primaries where he clinched 6,527 of the
6,575 possible votes while seven other aspirants that included political
heavyweights like Hon. Chief Austin Okpara, a former Deputy Speaker of the
Federal House of Representatives; late Senator Martin Yellowe; Pawariso
Horsfall; and Mr. Chris Orji shared the remaining 48 votes amongst themselves.
Amaechi’s name was subsequently forwarded to the INEC on December 14, 2006 in
compliance with Section 32(1) & (2) of the Electoral Act 2006. INEC
thereafter duly published Amaechi’s name as the gubernatorial candidate of the
Peoples Democratic Party in Rivers State.
The story however took
a different turn when, speaking at the presentation of the party flag to its
gubernatorial candidate at the Liberation Stadium, Port Harcourt, former
President and then “Emperor” of PDP, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, declared that
Amaechi’s candidacy had “k-leg”. Following this outright abuse of office, the
dreaded bulldog that was the Nuhu Ribadu-led Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC) was let loose on Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi, resulting in his
decision to seek legal redress for his travails. Suffice it to say, Amaechi
went on self exile to Ghana and the powers that be further showed their
contempt for him by selecting his cousin, Sir Celestine Omehia, who neither
purchased nor filled a form, as PDP flag-bearer in his stead.
Amaechi’s vindication
came with the 25th October, 2007 landmark ruling by the Nigerian Supreme Court
declaring him as not only the authentic flag-bearer of PDP but also ordering
that he be sworn-in immediately to replace Omehia, who had previously been
sworn-in on May 29, 2007 as the Governor of Rivers State. Thus, Amaechi became
the first and only person to occupy the office of governor in the country
without standing for election. In explaining the ruling, the Supreme Court has
since stated that it is the party that contests elections and that the PDP won
the gubernatorial elections, and that, consequently, Amaechi, being the
rightful candidate, should assume power as governor.
This epochal feat
stands as Amaechi’s greatest input towards the growth of judiciary in the
political life of Nigeria as it has become a reference case in determining
similar cases in Nigeria today.
APC
Explains why it is going to the Election Tribunal
As PDP goes about
celebrating their phantom victory that will be short lived, Ikanya proceeded to
give reasons why Rivers APC decided to go to tribunal to challenge the
declaration of Wike as the winner of an election that never took place.
His words: “Apart from
being our constitutional right to challenge this monumental fraud at the
tribunal, we also wish to set the records straight to avoid a situation where
those who are not empowered by the people of Rivers State through their votes
usurp powers that do not belong to them.
Continuing, the Rivers APC Chairman said: “We are going to the tribunal to
contest the fraudulent declaration of results for an alleged election that
witnessed a lot of killing, violence and thumb-printing of ballot papers in
favour of PDP candidates. The result cannot be allowed to stand. Chief Wike and
the PDP leadership for rigged the election in such a manner that primary school
pupils would have done better Allowing Chief Tammy Danagogo, the Minister of
Sports, and other PDP chieftains to be the ones to return INEC results of their
various local government constituencies to the State REC and acceptance of
results even where votes assumed to be collated exceeded the number of the
registered voters show the level of desperation by PDP and its INEC
collaborators.”
Dr. Ikanya disclosed
that yet another reason why Rivers APC is going to the tribunal is to maintain
the spirit of equity, justice and fairness and prevent the discrimination against
the Riverine section of the State as represented by the candidature of Chief
Wike represents since through former governor Peter Odili, incumbent Governor
Chibuike Amaechi and now Chief Wike, power will elude the Riverine section of
the State for 24 years.
“We are also going to
the tribunal to save the Rivers State common patrimony from being shared on
monthly basis among few PDP chieftains to the detriment of the future and
development of the State,” Ikanya explained.
My optimism is not based
on the obvious fact that there was no election in Rivers State – most
observers, including Prof Wole Soyinka, Ambassador Endwhistle and International
Observers have since confirmed that that there was no election in Rivers State
to warrant a winner being declared; it is also not based on the murderous
nature employed by the PDP leadership during the so called election or because
of the scandalous thumb-printing, ballot- snatching or because APC has gone to
the Election Tribunal to seek redress over the obvious robbery of its mandate.
Rather, my optimism is based on the fact that with Amaechi’s magic wand and his
political mystique, Chief Wike’s so called victory will end in a matter of few
weeks as victory will surely come the way of APC. Yes, the enormous facts at
APC’s disposal, the calibre of the legal team assembled by the party, and
Governor Amaechi’s penchant of snatching victory from the jaws of seeming
defeat after travelling the hard road, give me enough cause for optimism!
•Eze Chukwuemeka Eze
is a Media Consultant based in Port Harcourt in Rivers State.
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