Planned Impeachment of the Lawmaker-In-Chief, Amaechi - A Fluke

By Bright West

With the harvest of impeachments and threats of that in the camp of the organised opposition, the All Progressive Congress, APC, there is every reason for speculation amongst the Nigeria public and the world at large that the other governors next on target include the defiant governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi.

Governor Rotimi Amaechi

Governor Amaechi is one of the most vocal and a prominent member of the APC, a Party he joined barely a year ago when he could no longer bear the pain of belonging to the PDP under whose umbrella he came to power in 2007; after a legal battle that confirmed him as the rightful occupant of the seat which had Celestine Omehia in power for five months.

Amaechi was a staunch member of the PDP structure which he inherited from his mentor, Dr. Peter Odili, though under a shattered umbrella and no thanks to the succession bid. Odili’s inability to chose his successor out of his loyalists set the stage for a battle that was eventually settled at the Supreme Court with most of the caucus members on one side, supported by the then First Lady, Mary, who was highly influential; while Amaechi had the support of 18 out of the 23 Local Government Areas. Odili kept mute until less than twenty four hours to the Primaries, when he endorsed Amaechi as his choice, while he asked Austin Opara to step down. Opara, who was then the Deputy Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives is from Ikwerre ethnic group, which is Upland, a fellow Kinsman of Amaechi. It was Amaechi, who was the Speaker of the State Assembly while Odili was governor that influenced the making of Opara as Deputy Speaker through the instrumentality of Odili.

Almost seven years after, a similar scenario is about to repeat itself. Though, this time, it is not a battle within the ruling Party in the state but between Amaechi’s new Party, APC, and the opposition Party, PDP. Since the inception of democracy, more than 15 years ago, this is the first time the state is going to be in opposition to the Party at the center. But it is not the first time a big fight for control will take place here.

While the man who was Amaechi’s arrowhead in 2007, Nyeso Wike, his fellow kinsman and the junior minister for Education has since parted ways with the man he fought to protect; there has been no love lost as Wike leads yet another group of those since opposed to Amaechi’s emergence as governor. It was the same group that Wike alongside several supporters of Amaechi fought in 2007 and won and that earned him the position of Chief of Staff for a period of four years. With his nomination by Amaechi as Minister to represent the South South Ministerial slot, that afforded him the closeness to Aso Rock and the powers that be. He suddenly won the heart of those who were not comfortable with Amaechi’s brand of politics which is a mixture of activism and governance. The Minister needed no introduction as he consistently made it clear to his new employers and friends in Abuja that he is the only one who had the secret code to unlock and tame Amaechi’s excesses. They believed him.

It was not easy to dismiss him more so when it was he who plotted the removal of Amaechi’s man, G.U. Ake as the Chairman of the PDP in the state. It was an oversight on Ake’s part for not being in possession of the Certificate of Return confirming him as the duly elected Chairman of the PDP. That negligence cost Amaechi the structure of the party which is now in the firm grip of Wike.

Though there were failed efforts in the Courts to remove Amaechi, there was also an attempt to remove him through an impeachment process at the State Assembly.

In July 2013, there was an attempt by six lawmakers said to be loyal to Wike and the First Lady, Patience Jonathan, to impeach the Speaker, Otelemba Amachree, a close ally of Gov. Amaechi. The plot to impeach Otelemba and replace him with Evans Bipi, a former domestic aide of Mrs. Jonathan representing Ogu/Bolo Constituency failed as the pro-Amaechi lawmakers were in the majority. The 32-man State Assembly, all PDP members had 26 of them against the impeachment plot which culminated into a fight that became bloody. Amaechi and his aides were physically present, having gotten wind of the plot, he was able to frustrate the plans of his former loyalist.

Since then, the Pro-Amaechi lawmakers have been resilient, consistent and committed to following and protecting their principal. Apparently, the ones said to be loyal to Wike were the ones he was allowed to influence their nomination and election. Four out of the six represent his immediate constituency.

Now, the wind of impeachment blows across the APC controlled states, the case of Rivers may just be an exercise in futility. Several reasons point to that fact. Amaechi, though frugal with funds has a followership that is made of those who are naturally passionate about him. They have only consistently followed him since his days as Speaker. Amaechi was the two-time Chairman of the Conference of Speakers, a position that earned him accolades by his colleagues. A man who controlled 36 state Speakers is not a mere pushover as he rose to become the ‘Lawmaker-in-Chief’. He had garnered a lot of useful knowledge.

He understands the importance of the Assembly to a governor through his experience in the past, so he held firmly to the members.

Before he switched to the APC, he consulted the lawmakers who gave their nod though they remained in the PDP until last week when they announced their movement to the APC to confirm their tacit support for their principal.

Another reason why it is impossible to impeach Amaechi is that the man who leads the opposition against Amaechi in the state does not possess the finesse and charisma of the governor. Majority of the lawmakers have no faith in Wike.

In fact, the plot to impeach Amaechi will fail at infancy because of the high handedness and arrogance of the Minister.

The state of Rivers politics is entirely different a from that of Adamawa where the governor left to the APC without the state Assembly members.

Maybe, if the plot is being hatched by no less a person than Wike, there could be some somersaults by some greedy lawmakers. But just like it is said, the devil you know is better than the angel you do not know, Rivers people are more comfortable with an ‘arrogant’ performing governor with no penchant for stealing from the state treasury than to have an excessively greedy and arrogant governor on the saddle. Besides, any attempt to impeach the governor and his deputy will end up truncating the agenda of the Ijaws or the Riverine people to succeed Amaechi.

In conclusion, Amaechi is the only governor being threatened with impeachment but has the requisite knowledge courtesy of his title as the Lawmaker-in-Chief. The only governor in Nigeria with a title of Rt.Honourable, having been Speaker for eight years. His Assembly was adjudged the best, as he was able to win over those in opposition to the PDP.

Those who plan to impeach him may only be doing so to further enrich their pockets. The PDP will have to save their money as far as Rivers State is concerned.

Amaechi may only need to take a bow and exit the stage on May 29, 2015.

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Planned Impeachment of the Lawmaker-In-Chief, Amaechi - A Fluke