Rivers Crisis: ACN calls forJonathan’s impeachment

The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has heaped the blame for the
ongoing crisis in Rivers State on President Goodluck Jonathan and
asked the National Assembly to immediately commence impeachment
proceedingsagainst him, for failing to live up to his oath of office
to uphold the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
In a statement issued in Lagos on Wednesday by its National Publicity
Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said by Jonathan's
abhorrence of the rule of law and majority rule, the latest indication
of which is his unmistakable support for a group of renegade lawmakers
who are fomenting trouble in Rivers State, the President has become a
clear and present danger to the country's democracy, and must be shown
the way out in accordance with the Constitution.
"Under President Jonathan's watch andwith his tacit support, a few
lawmakersdictated to majority of the members ofthe Ogun State House of
Assembly, which was locked for a long time. Under President Jonathan's
watch, the Nigerian Governors' Forum was sabotaged by his minions who
declared a Governor with 16 votes a winner over the one who scored 19
votes, in a injurious blow to the concept of democracy.
"And under his watch, five lawmakers –out of 32 – have become the
majority and, simply because they have the backing of the presidency,
are now being given police protection to disrupt the proceedings of
the House. As we write, Rivers state has been taken over by current
and former militants who have been unleashed to destabilize the state
and cause a breakdown of law and order, to pave the way for the
imposition of a State ofEmergency.
"This cannot and must be allowed to continue, hence our call on the
National Assembly to move quickly to remove the source of the crisis.
Since this is no longer an intra-party dispute and because of its
potentials to set thecountry on fire, we also call on civil society
groups, professional bodies and ordinary Nigerians to rise up and
defend the rule of law and the supremacy of the Constitution over
arbitrariness," ACN said.
The party decried the anarchy that is now reigning in Rivers, simply
becausethe five renegade lawmakers have the backing of the presidency,
which has emboldened them to take extra-Constitutional measures to try
to remove the majority-backed Speaker of the State House of Assembly.
"Taking a cue from the presidency, the State Commissioner of Police
has turned himself into a politician and abandoned his constitutional
role. Instead of providing security for the entire House to sit, he
chose to back the renegades and their thugs to unleash mayhem on their
colleagues. This is what you get when a leader dons the garb of a
partisan instead of being a statesman.
All sorts of minions simply follow suit," it said.
The party said that in the aftermath of the crisis, the soldiers
attached to the State House in Rivers have been withdrawn while there
are real fears that the police security will also be withdrawn by a
Commissioner of Police who, apparently, no longer takes orders from
his boss.
"This is not the democracy that was watered with the blood of many
Nigerians. This not what Nigerians bargained for after years of
military rule. We should not and must not allow those who are now
reaping where they did not sow to reverse the little progress that we
have made," ACN warned.