governor, Rotimi Amaechi, was, on Thursday night, prevented from entering the Government House, as men of the state police command blocked him and several visitors with him from entering through his usual route to his residence.
Governor Amaechi was said to have gone on a tour of projects with some dignitaries who had visited him, mostly former speakers of state houses of assembly and was returning to the Government House at about some minutes past 7.00 p.m.
A source, who was in the governor’s convoy when the incident occurred, said Amaechi and his guests could not access the Forces Avenue route to the back entrance, his usual route to the premises, and discovered that the place had been barricaded by armed policemen.
According to the source, who preferred anonymity, “we were returning from project inspection, Oga (Governor Amaechi) had taken some former speakers of state houses of assembly who are on visit to see some of our projects. But as we returned and got to the entrance, we discovered that policemen had blocked the access.
“Some of the visitors were even begging them to allow the man into his residence, but they refused. This lasted more than 30 minutes, after which we had to turn round to go take the main entrance into 105 (office complex of the Government House).”
Commenting on the development, the state Commissioner for Information and Communications, Ibim Semenitari, condemned it, describing it as height of impunity and most unacceptable to the Rivers State government.
“This is impunity in its worst form, it is unthinkable and the Rivers State government finds it unacceptable.
“It is an affront on democracy, an attack on the office and the person of the governor of Rivers State. It beats all imagination and reason. Rivers State government condemns this,” she said.
When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mrs Angela Angela Agabe, said she had heard of the incident.
She said the police had to barricade Forces Avenue for security reasons, because of the secretariat of the New Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that was opened there today (Thursday) by the Abubakar Kawu Baraje -led faction of PDP in the state.
She said the police had to block the road to ensure there was no breakdown of law and order.
“The governor has other routes to get to the Government House. So, I don’t see how this should be an issue,” Agabe said.
In another development, the opening of the Rivers State secretariat of the new PDP in Port Harcourt, on Monday, was greeted with drama, as men of the state police command stormed the property, sealing it off and pulling the flags down.
Chief of Staff of the Rivers State government, Tony Okocha, had led some members of the party, including local government chairmen and commissioners, to the new office building, declared it open and hoisted flags of the party.
Okocha was just rounding off the hoisting of the flags on six poles, including two national flags, when the deputy commissioner of police in charge of Criminal Investigations Department (CID), Sam Oghaora, entered the compound hosting the secretariat, same building used as the campaign office for the re-election of Governor Rotimi Amaechi, in 2007 and sealed off the property.
Okocha had told journalists and members of the party who were with him at the opening ceremony that the exercise was in compliance with the directive of the national leadership of the New PDP, expressing the hope that the party would start experiencing a renewal in the state.
He also said the emergence of the New PDP was a response to growing impunity and reckless attitude of the leadership in the old PDP, urging all party leaders in the state to start mobilisation of members across all council areas of the state, so as to ensure that the party was finally delivered from undemocratic leadership.
“In strict obedience to the directive of the national Leadership of the new PDP, I hereby open the office of the Rivers State chapter. As I open this new secretariat of our great party, the PDP, I hope that this will usher in fresh air and democratic renewal in our state and nation.
“The new PDP is a national response to the impunity, recklessness and dictatorial tendencies typical of the former leadership of our party. I, therefore, urge the party executive in the state to immediately commence the mobilisation of party men and women to deliver the party from the stranglehold of tyrants.
“I commend the governors of Kano, Jigawa, Sokoto, Adamawa, Kwara, Niger and our indefatigable governor of Rivers State and chairman of Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Amaechi and other adherents for this uncommon display of courage. They are, indeed, heroes of democracy. On Baraje-led national leadership of the PDP we stand,” Okocha said.
The event was, however, disrupted by the arrival of the police, when the leader of the team, Oghaora, ordered policemen from the Old GRA police station to bring down all the flags within the premises.
He said his action followed the call put to his office, adding that he was going to deal with anybody who hoisted flags in the premises of the building as, according to him, there was no secretariat in the building.
“We will not allow anybody to take laws into their hands, we will go all out to ensure that we maintain law and order in this state. Anybody that takes laws into his hands will be dealt with accordingly, that’s exactly what we have done here.
“We don’t have any secretariat here and anybody who has come here to hoist any flag will be dealt with. That’s what we have done and nothing more than that,” Oghaora said.
The situation got a little rougher when some of the policemen ordered to evacuate people around the premises went physical on journalists who were covering the event, breaking the camera of The Sun newspaper’s photographer in the process.
When the Nigeria Tribune went through the neighbourhood of the secretariat some 30 minutes after the drama, not less than 16 police vans were seen around the vicinity, with two blocking the entrance into the compound and several armed policemen on guard.
Meanwhile, when the Nigerian Tribune contacted the Chief of Staff for comment on the development, he said the faction had achieved its aim, which was opening the secretariat.
He, however, pointed out that the action of the police command in the state had further justified the position of the Amaechi-led administration that police in the state had become compromised with politics.
SOURCE: Nigerian Tribune Newspapers.
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