Rivers State Calm, Peaceful, says Presidency

The Nigerian presidency has declared that contrary to popular impression and reports in the media, there is no cause for concern about recent political developments in Rivers State.

In a statement issued in Abuja on Wednesday and signed by Doyin Okupe, Senior Special Assistant to the President on public affairs, the presidency said the fact that residents of the state are going about their various businesses, religious and political affairs peacefully and the fact that Rotimi Amaechi feel confident enough to travel out of the state is evidence that insinuations suggesting that Rivers State is in crisis are unfounded.

The Presidency also reiterated in the statement that President Jonathan is not interested in the affairs of Nigeria’s Governors’ Forum, NGF.

The Presidency said contrary to reports, the Forum cannot influence the participation of President Jonathan in the 2015 elections.

The Presidency said it was compelled to issue the statement as a result of “activities of some Governors from the northern part concerning political developments in Rivers State which it said are “clearly intended to create fear, despair and sense of apprehension among the citizenry are grossly unfounded, misplaced and a deliberate over sensationalization of the situation.”

The Presidency insisted that the situation in Rivers State is purely a localized political matter and has no dangerous or far reaching consequences for the peace and security of the nation contrary to the impression being created by the Governors.

It also noted that not less than 12 states have witnessed incidents of attempted impeachment of Speakers of Houses of Assembly in Nigeria since the country return to democracy in 1999. It added that none of the attempted impeachment has posed any threat to peace and security in the country.

“Developments in Rivers State do not pose any threat to our democracy. Our democracy remains robust, alive and well. In politics as in every sphere of human activity, different shades of opinion on issues are not uncommon within the polity but often get resolved either politically or through legal channels. It is therefore disingenuous for anyone to suggest that the political disagreement in Rivers State would imperil and ultimately derail our democracy. We recall that in Ogun State in 2010 after series of sustained fracas and attempts at impeachment and counter impeachment, the Inspector General of Police locked up the House of Assembly for several months. In all that time, nobody in the whole country suggested that the situation was a threat to our nascent democracy, and no state Governor went on any solidarity visit,” said the Presidency.

“Nigeria is not in any way in disarray. As is the case in every country of the world, there may be conflicts of ideas and interests here and there, which in itself is the beauty of democracy and should not by any means be construed to mean that there is chaos in the country or that Nigeria is tilting towards anarchy as some people have claimed.

“Nigeria remains peaceful and is not and cannot in any way be threatened by political developments in Rivers State,” the Presidency said.

Rather, the Presidency said the most potent threats to Nigeria’s corporate existence and sovereignty since independence has been the Boko Haram insurgency which it said is being “confronted frontally by government with strong determination and focus, which has led to decisive action that has brought about the containment of the menace by the Nigerian military and other security agencies.”

“Most reasonable Nigerians would have expected these governors to be deeply concerned and appreciative of the laudable effort of the Federal Government, which has brought reprieve from fear as well as comfort and solace not only to the people of the affected areas but also to the entire nation and international community.

“Surprisingly, they appear to be more interested in political maneuvering and grandstanding at the expense of the well-being of the people in their states and the stability of the nation at large.

“ The Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) issue like the political development in Rivers State remains essentially an affair of the 36 state governors. The outcome of elections in the body is inconsequential to the orderly governance of the Nigerian state by the Presidency.

“The choice of who becomes leader of the body clearly has no significant ramification on the wider political calculation of who becomes President of the country as events in our recent history bear out. We note that the chairman of the NGF in 2011 was clearly at odds with the President.

“He contested and lost the party’s presidential primaries to the incumbent President of the country who went ahead to be elected President by the overwhelming majority of Nigeria.

“It is clear therefore that occupying the chairmanship of the NGF does not in any way confer any political influence or advantage as regards who becomes President of the country neither will it be of any major political significance in the 2015 Presidential race as is being bandied about erroneously.

“We therefore admonish Governors having serious issues with their party to take advantage of various channels within the party machinery to resolve it. Also, they may first of all try to show good example of their commitment to peace by working to put their own house in order through restoration of peace and consensus within the NGF.

“While we note their current political moves, they should be mindful that in all they do as political leaders, they ought to put the interest of the nation and our democracy first. This indeed, is the hallmark of true patriotism.

“We note with satisfaction and appreciation, the subsequent visit by five governors and two deputy governors including Governor Fayemi, Governor Fashola, Governor Aregbesola, Governor Ajimobi and Governor Amosun, who demonstrated high and commendable sense of patriotism and genuine concern for the nation, with very conciliatory disposition and statesmanlike advise to Governor Amaechi towards finding a lasting solution to the political disagreements between the governor and members of the state’s House of Assembly.

“We want to assure Nigerians that the Presidency is not involved in the dispute in Rivers State and will not deliberately engage in any act of destabilization of Rivers State or any state in the country neither is it interested for whatever reason, in destabilization of the NGF.

“In consonance with the dictates and practice of true federalism and the supremacy of the rule of law, it will be advisable that whatever political entanglements may still exist in Rivers State should be resolved politically or by employing due process of law, in the interest of peaceful co-existence and overall well-being of its citizens,” the presidency concluded.