A petition against Rotimi Chubuike Amaechi from Senator George Sekibo, a Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, stalwart from Rivers East Senatorial District, threw the Senate into a rowdy session on Wednesday.
The former governor of Rivers State, who is one of the ministerial nominees whose names were submitted by President Muhammadu Buhari to the Senate for screening and approval, was accused of fraud and corruption in the purported petition.
In a bid to prevent the successful screening of Rotimi Amaechi, the PDP chieftain rose up to submit the petition supposedly written by people from his senatorial district.
However, Senators elected on the platform of Amaechi’s ruling party, All Progressives Congress, APC, shouted him down.
It took the intervention of the Senate Chief Whip, Olusola Adeyeye, to restore order.
In a related development, no fewer than fifty-seven (57) petitions were written against former Governor Rotimi Amaechi. The petitions as we gathered were already submitted to the senate. The petitions are bordering on misappropriation of funds and other related offences.
With the series of petitions against the former Governor, he might face stiff hurdles on the floor of the National Assembly when he appears come October 13 for screening.
Meanwhile, the nomination of former Governor, Chibuike Amaechi, of Rivers State as minister is heating up political tension in the state as loyalists and those against his nomination may clash on the streets of Port Harcourt.
The Rivers State Police Command said it has uncovered clandestine moves by two opposing groups that stage a protest in Port Harcourt, the Rivers state Capital, to express their support or opposition to the ministerial nomination by
President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Commissioner of Police, Musa Kimo, has therefore warned the groups to the police would not allow the planned protest, so as not truncate the existing peaceful co-existence in the state.
In a statement issued on behalf of the commissioner by the Command’s spokesman, Ahmad Muhammad, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Kimo said those who flout the ban would be arrested and prosecuted.
“While the Command respects the individuals’ right to peaceful assembly, it will not tolerate a situation where such protests will lead to breach of public peace and breakdown of law and order,” he warned.
He urged members of the public to remain peaceful, assuring it of the safety of lives and property.
Kimo “enjoins the good people of Rivers State to remain calm, hopeful, confident and trusting in the ability of the Command to discharge its constitutional mandate of ensuring public peace and security; as well as upholding democratic rights and rule of law.”
There have been allegations and counter-allegations between All Progressive Congress, APC, and the Rivers state government over planned public protest against the nomination of Amaechi as Minister.
While APC accuses Governor Nyesom Wike’s administration of planning a protest against Amaechi’s nomination, the state government denied the allegation, saying that the appointment of Amaechi is absolutely inconsequential to the Rivers people and the Rivers state government and so would not waste its time sponsoring protests against such nomination as doing that would not change anything.
