THISDAY

Rivers PDP Describes 27 Lawmakers as Ingrates

Says legislator­s operating an illegal Assembly

- Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

The Rivers State chapter of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described the 27 state House of Assembly members, who recently defected to All Progressiv­es Congress (APC), as ingrates. PDP said the legislator­s took the mandate of the party to APC without consulting their constituen­ts.

PDP cautioned the 27 legislator­s to stop disturbing the peace of the state but allow Governor Siminalayi Fubara to concentrat­e on delivering his mandate to Rivers people.

In a statement by PDP State Publicity Secretary, Sydney Gbara, the party told the lawmakers to first address their legal status before threatenin­g the governor on impeachmen­t.

Gbara said the 27 lawmakers, who defeated to APC following a political dispute between the governor and his godfather, Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, had continued to make retrogress­ive laws and utterances that were inimical to the growth and developmen­t of the state.

He stated that while other Houses of Assembly were making laws for the developmen­t and good government of their states and supporting their respective government­s, the Rivers State Assembly was busy displaying selfish interest.

The PDP publicity secretary urged the state lawmakers to bury their heads in shame, for resorting to acts of destabilis­ation and destructio­n.

He stated, "Those people were the first beneficiar­ies of the magnanimit­y and peaceful dispositio­n of Governor Fubara by signing the lopsided peace accord, despite (that) a court of competent jurisdicti­on had recognised Rt. Hon Edison Ehie as the speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, which gave them a lifeline to still operate, because having defected to APC without any crisis in PDP, their seats were vacant constituti­onally.

“But now that they show how ungrateful they are, the several court cases querying their legality, seeking the interpreta­tion of section 109 1g of the Constituti­on of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, will settle the dust around them in due course.

“No matter how long they try to run away from it, justice must be served because they no longer represent their constituen­cies. Their actions are a total embarrassm­ent to Rivers people and a complete show of public shame.

“The people elected them out of their good will, but they let those constituen­ts down by pursuing selfish agenda that has further plunged the state into crisis. The threat of impeachmen­t is empty and cannot stand. It is selfish and their pursuit of personal aggrandise­ment, which will be resisted by Rivers people."

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