Posted by By Linus Obogo (linusobogo@yahoo.com on
Indications emerged Thursday that as part of the political solution to the lingering mayhem in Port-Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, stakeholders in the polity - including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), may have concluded plans to sacrifice Governor Celestine Omehia.
•May be sacrificed for peace
Indications emerged Thursday that as part of the political solution to the lingering mayhem in Port-Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, stakeholders in the polity - including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), may have concluded plans to sacrifice Governor Celestine Omehia.
The ongoing carnage, according to Saturday Sun source close to Government House, Port-Harcourt, is believed not to be unconnected with the processes leading to the April governorship election, which has since remained encased in litigations between the former Speaker Rotimi Amechi and Omehia.
Amechi who had earlier picked the PDP's governorship ticket in the primary later emerged as unfavourable choice to the national executive of the party and was subsequently replaced by Omehia, who incidentally is Amechi's cousin.
Tracing the outcome of the exercise, which has also created a state of anomie and left Amechi seemingly shortchanged, our Government House source hinted that aggrieved supporters of the former Speaker have not relented in ensuring that the new governor does not rest easy until justice prevails. Although he insisted that the violence that is raging in the state was never part of the plot to make Rivers State ungovernable for Omehia, the source said that the Amaechi camp was favourably disposed to the declaration of emergency rule in the state, if that was the only way to ensure that those who schemed them out of power did not enjoy the same power.
But in a swift reaction, Amechi's camp has punctured the claim, insisting, however, that the argument against Amechi is no different from giving a dog a bad name in order to hang it.
They noted that though Amechi is aggrieved, as law-abiding citizen, he had explored the legal option. According to them, since the former Speaker is already in court to challenge the injustice done him by his party (PDP), he cannot at the same time hold the very people he aspired to govern hostage by perpetrating crisis in the state.
Consistent with their position, they maintained that the lingering crisis which has reduced the state to a miniature version of Iraq is Omehia's feebled efforts to deflect attention and taint Amechi as an outlaw as a result of the sham election of April where Rivers State citizens were not allowed to chose who they wanted.
A source close to Amechi's camp also argued that what is happening in the state is a bold statement against the popularity of Omehia and his desperate backers who have become accustomed to wrenching mandate through the use of guns. According to him, 'the issue is not about Amechi, but about the people and who they want to represent them. The mandate was stolen at gun point. The guns have become a common commodity in the state. So, the crisis is the end product of grabbing power at all costs."
While Amechi is still pursuing his disqualification by the party at the Supreme Court, having lost at the appellate court, there is growing apprehension in PDP camp that the former Speaker might get a positive judgment and consequently upset the apple cart.
To forestall this possibility, Saturday Sun source in Port-Harcourt revealed that PDP, in consonance with other stakeholders in the state, may have penciled down two names believed to enjoy grassroots following and support, in the event that Omehia is thrown out and the need for another election arises.
Not willing to volunteer the likely names, the latest position, according to the source, is hinged on the fact that the power brokers have realized, albeit belatedly, that Ab initio, they might have backed a wrong horse in Omehia, whose popularity is being questioned in the unending bloodbath that has since blown to the surface in the state without the prospect of bottoming out. Another reservation voiced against Omehia is his lack of capacity to arrest the conflagration threatening to consume everyone in the state.
Also, to further halt the growing culture where candidates had in the past resorted to the enlistment of militants by arming them to win elections, the emerging shortlists are those that can engender stability in the state and stymie the proliferation of arms.
Going by the mood in the PDP stalwarts, Rivers State is considered too strategic to be allowed to weather the anarchic storm it is currently experiencing, hence the decision to sacrifice Governor Omehia.
While the Supreme Court judgment is being awaited, Saturday Sun gathered that the governor might be dumped into the cold by the party if eventually the apex court gives an unfavourable ruling.
Incidentally, Omehia's loss may also not be Amaechi's gain as those who call the shots in the PDP do not seem to be equally disposed to having the former speaker back.