On Monday the Central Working
Committee of ruling party in Nigeria PDP, suspended Governor of Rivers state, Rotimi
Amaechi for ‘disobeying’ the party. The suspension came on the birthday of the
governor! The party accused the governor of failing to rescind his decision to
sack the executive council of a local government in Rivers state. The governor
replied that the allegation was untrue since he was not the one that dissolved
the local government executive council.
PDP has become a party that has
little or no regard for democratic norms. The party has made itself a laughing
stock due to his utterances and actions. The action that led to the governor
being suspended has been on for some time. It’s curious to punish the governor
just three days after his re-election as chairman of Nigeria Governors’ Forum. The
action of the executive member of the ruling People’s Democratic Party is
sending wrong signal that dangers lie ahead in 2015.It doubtful whether this
party that has failed in internal democracy can handle general elections in
2015.The attitude of the party to losing election should worry Nigerians about
future elections in the country. The candidate of the party lost an election
that is unimportant to Nigerians and all hell broke lose; so what happens if
the party loses presidential election in 2015.Your guess is as good as mine.
The problem of the governor
stated when he began to speak his voice against the ruling party. The governor
loves to be plain and speak the voice of his colleagues as chairman of NGF. The
party believes he should speak its voce only and nothing more. He was
vociferous on the aggregatio0n and sharing of Sovereign Wealth Fund which sent
shivers down the spines of the ‘constituted authority’. The party also sees
Amaechi as courting the opposition by attending functions with them all the
time. They are always marking his steps!
First they have to ground his plane. He was moving too fast. Secondly they
would make the state ungovernable and create room for his removal. Thirdly,
remove him as Chairman of NGF, clip his wings and finally set the stage for his
disgrace. The governor found grace with the opposition and they have been
fighting tooth and nail for him in the media. The marginal win of the governors
was made possible by the votes secured from the opposition. Votes were divided
in his party, PDP between him and Jang. The opposition combined and left their
own to vote the troubled governor. It’s getting clearer that the PDP is losing
its grips on power but rather than use innate intelligence and political wisdom
to resolve internal matter, they are using the same old hand twisting to
achieve a simple goal. It’s astonishing to know that the party may disintegrate
under Tukur with all his wealth of experience. If the party disintegrates, I
think Nigerians will heave a sigh of relief from a party that gave them nothing
to sheer since 1999 but how to ‘capture’ elections.
OPINION
The state of infrastructure in
Nigeria is so bad that we have been taken back to Stone Age. Electricity is none
existent, Roads are death traps, security is a nightmare, majority of Nigerians
do not have access to water nor good health care. Shamefully all we have been
talking about is governors’ forum or the battle between a governor and errand
boys in his party. One thing is sure; it’s only in Nigeria you have such ineptitude
of leadership. Nigeria now has two chairmen of one governors’ forum. One is
Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers state and the second is Governor Jonah Jang
of Plateau state. Deductively there are two fora for the governors, depending
on which side of the pendulum you belong: the popular side or the power that-be
side.
The matter will not end at the suspension
of the governor. The committee set up to investigate the governor might
ultimately de-register him as a member or leave his case hanging thereby
removing the platform he stands to contest any election. Finally when the
governor leaves office by impeachment or expiration of his term, anti
corruption agencies will go after him, and then they will lay him bare to ask
for forgiveness of sins and to turn a new leaf.
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