Northern Governors Demand Removal Of Rivers Police Commissioner-PREMIUM TIMES

A team of Northern governors on a solidarity visit to Rivers State
Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, have askedthe Inspector General of Police to
immediately redeploy the Commissioner of Police in the state, Joseph
Mbu, over what they describedas his unprofessionalism and political
partisanship in the multiple crises rocking the state.
In a statement distributed to journalists shortly before they drove
out of the Government House in the company of their host, the
governors — Babangida Aliyu (Niger) Murtala Nyako (Adamawa), Sule
Lamido (Jigawa) Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano) — said having interacted with
stakeholders in the state, it was clear that Commissioner Mbu was
being used to persecute the Rivers State Governor.
"We wish to call on the Inspector General of Police to hearken to the
voices of reason and immediately redeploy and discipline Commissioner
Joseph Mbu," the statement said. "His action smacks of
unprofessionalism and political partisanship which is unbecoming of
his office."
Talking really tough, the governors threatened that they would
reconsider their earlier commitment to contribute part of their
federal allocations towards the funding of thepolice if the Rivers
police boss was not removed and sanctioned.
"With the way the police is being used and abused, and with officers
like Mbu in the bus, we do not see theneed for state governments to
fund an antagonistic police and may be forced to reconsider our
position on the financial contribution of states towards the funding
of the Nigerian police," the governors said.
They also resuscitated the debate over the desirability of state
police for the country, saying it had become a necessity since the
federal government was now in the habit of using the federal police to
persecute political enemies.
"Arising from the action of the police, and Joseph Mbu in Rivers
State, the call for state police as a constitutional provision has
become a necessity," the statement added. "We note that the events in
Rivers state have again brought to the fore the issue of true
federalism and the need for institutions derived from the
Constitutions to be allowed to function without undue interference. As
federating units, we must be allowed the space to guarantee our
people's sustainable development as provided by the Constitution."
The governors commended Mr. Amaechi for his "maturity and calm even in
the face of apparent persecution".
They also praised the House of Representatives for its proactive
leadership in resolving the Rivers crisis and the Senate for its
thoroughness in addressing the matter.
They called on political actors in Rivers State to "defuse tension and
stop all actions capable of overheating the polity and derailing our
nascent democracy".
"We must all work together to build one united and indivisible nation
nation and strengthen our democracy," they said.
The four governors were, on arrival at the Port Harcourt International
Airportearlier today, harassed by protesters, believed to have acted
at the behest of people opposed to Governor Amaechi.
The protesters, under the aegis of Grassroots Development Initiative,
had besieged the airport shortly before the arrival of the governors.
Chanting anti-Amaechi slogans, the protesters berated the governors
for intervening in Rivers State's internal crisis.
As the cars conveying the visiting governors drove out of the airport
and headed towards the Rivers State Government House, the protesters
became violent pelting the motorcade with stones, water bottles,sticks
and other items.
However, the governors arrived the Government House safe, without any
major incident, and immediately went into a closed-door meeting
withMr. Amaechi.
A leader of the protesting group, Samuel Nwanosike, later said Rivers
people were uncomfortable with the visit of the governors.
He said the people of the state were capable of solving their own
problem and that the northern governors should leave them alone.
The visiting governors have remainedfirm supporters of the embattled
Rivers governor. They visited in the wake of the recent
state-sponsored unrest, to which many commentators have pointed
accusing fingers at federal authorities.
Wole Soyinka, Nobel Laureate and professor of literature, at a press
conference in Lagos last week, cautioned Patience Jonathan, wife of
President Jonathan, against invasivelyinserting herself in the
politics of the state, and working secretly as matron to forces trying
to unseat Mr. Amaechi and make the state ungovernable.
Mrs. Jonathan has denied the claims, drawing wide amusement when she
described the Nobel Laureate as an "embarrassment."
The Minister of State for Education, Nyesom Wike, also reportedly
arrived Port Harcourt on Tuesday.
Mr. Wike, an indigene of Rivers State, has been accused of being an
arrowhead of the anti-Amaechi group.
The Rivers State Governor has been having a running battle with the
presidency over his stance on major public issues. He has since been
suspended from the PDP.The crisis in the state worsened last week when
five state lawmakers, loyal to the presidency, attempted to impeach
the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly. The speaker and 26
other lawmakers are loyal to Mr. Amaechi, the Chairman of the Nigeria
Governors Forum. The violent crisis in the assembly was widely
publicised on television and social media.
Mr. Amaechi had repeatedly called for the redeployment of the Rivers
State Commissioner of Police who is accused of playing partisan role
in thecrisis.
The House of Representatives has passed a resolution also demanding
the immediate removal of the controversial police commissioner.