STILL ON RIVERS STATE:While the five anti-Amaechi lawmakers of the Rivers State House of Assembly claimed that the speaker of the Assembly, Hon. Otelemaba Amachree was impeached and replaced with Hon. Evans Bapakaye Bipi, believed to be the younger brother of Dame Patience Jonathan, one of the pro-Amaechi lawmakers, Hon. Chidi Lloyd has said the purported impeachment was only an attempt. Lloyd who was speaking from his hospital bed at the Intensive Care Unit of St Patrick’s Hospital in Port Harcourt, after sustaining injuries from the fracas that ensued between the pro-Amaechi and anti-Ameachi lawamkers, where two other lawmakers loyal to Amaechi, Hon. Azubuike Nwanjoku and Michael Chinda also got injured said: “There was no impeachment.” “How could there be when there was not sitting. “We had barely arrived for work when Evans Bipi came and attacked me. Myself and Azubuike Nwanjoku were beaten severely. They invited thugs to beat us up and it was supervised by the Commissioner of Police. We are now in the clinic.” Abusidiqu learnt that Hon. Evans Bapakaye Bipi, whom the five anti- Ameachi lawmakers said they elected as speaker came to the Assembly complex with thugs, after a previous night arrangement with the state Commissioner of Police to look the other way when the thugs performs their duty at the complex. The thugs on arrival at the complex pounced on the house leaders, Michael Chinda and Chidi Lloyd, while the police and the military kept their distance. It took the arrival of the State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi to salvage what was left of his loyalist as the thugs came well prepared. A source at the Assembly, who did not want his name published, confirmed that Amaechi rushed to the Assembly with his aides and armed escorts, after learning that the police and members of the JTF failed to intervene in the fracas. “After the first fight, the governor came in and the fighting continued,” he said. “Then the governor left with the 27 lawmakers. The purportedly elected speaker, Hon. Bipi, however said the Amachree was duly impeached by a quorum of the house. “We formed a quorum, and Chidi Lloyd was present,” he said. “The speaker was also there, as well as Ibiso and Kelechi (Nwaogu) were also there. In fact we were 15 in number.” A source told Abusidiqu that the impeachment actually took place while Amaechi left with the 27 lawmakers loyal to him. “While Amaechi left with the 27 lawmakers, the other five returned to the chambers with the mace. One of them moved a motion to impeach the speaker and it was seconded by another and they announced Bipi as the new speaker and he gave his acceptance speech,” he said. It was gathered that the Amaechi group later discovered that five renegade members of the house empowered by President Jonathan had seized the mace. They then ran back to retrieve the mace and later returned to hold a session where they amended the 2013 budget and claimed there was no cause for alarm in the house.
Posted on: Tue, 09 Jul 2013 15:06:07 +0000
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