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Tough words came from the beleaguered Bayelsa State governor on Monday, few hours after the impeachment of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the State House of Assembly.
Tough words came from the beleaguered Bayelsa State governor on Monday, few hours after the impeachment of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the State House of Assembly.
Speaking to Daily Sun from London in a telephone interview, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha said he was by no means scared of impeachment, stressing that if he was removed, it would not be the first in the world.
"If I'm impeached, it would not be the first in Nigeria, nor in the world. I would not be the first governor in Nigeria to be impeached. Nobody can intimidate me. What are the grounds of impeachment? I'm a hostage here, I'm helpless. Impeach a man held in a foreign land? On what grounds? Nobody has served me any impeachment notice."
Alamieyeseigha, held since September 15 by the London Metropolitan police on alleged money laundering charges, said if he was back home in Nigeria, nobody could have dared play the impeachment card.
"Your star cannot shine beyond what has been given to you," the governor declared. "If I'm in Nigeria, these things can't happen. If a whole Attorney-General of the Federation can come here and say don't release him, it's the height of irresponsibility."
Speaking further on the appearance of Chief Bayo Ojo, the Attorney-General/Minister of Justice in a London court, pleading that the governor be held in London till the case was concluded, Alamieyeseigha said he was not only shocked, but devastated by the development.
"It shows that I've been exiled by my own people. I was surprised, very surprised… I'm not saying President Olusegun Obasanjo is behind my travails, but from unfolding events, it is clear. Who else can despatch the Attorney-General to England to prosecute me?"
As if an all out war had been declared against his family, Alamieyeseigha told Daily Sun that his two sons, Oyamyefa and Seleake, were arrested at Waterloo train station on Sunday.
"They were held from 9.30 am to 3.30 pm. No charges have been preferred against them. They were travelling to meet their brothers in U.S through Paris, and had to go by train. They found $10,000 on the two of them. There is no law for them not to carry money. The money was taken from them, my cousin who gave them the money was charged and will be in court tomorrow (Tuesday).
"My whole family is being pursued left and right. My daughter was also denied visa, and is stranded in Nigeria. You're now fighting a man, the wife and children. That's the character of Nigeria.
It's unbelievable. The British police did not hide the fact that they were instigated from Nigeria. Or have you heard of the Attorney-General of one country going to another country to prosecute a citizen? It's not Alamieyeseigha that is on trial, it's Nigeria. It's happening to Alamieyeseigha today, it may be others at another time."
The governor's travails have been linked with his support for the presidential ambition of Vice President Atiku Abubakar. True? His response:
"I'm being held hostage here, Atiku is with you there. You can reach him. But the truth of the matter is that nobody has ever declared. Atiku has not declared he's contesting, so why would anybody insinuate? I've always been loyal to Mr President, but I don't do eye service."
Confident that he'll be vindicated one day, Alamieyeseigha urged the Ijaw nation (of which he's often called the Governor-General) to be "solid, firm, and fight for their rights," adding that "power is never given freely."
Asked to give a message to the state House of Assembly and the cabinet, he said: "The Deputy Governor is on ground, work with him for the stability of the state. My deputy has been a very loyal and dedicated person. He's matured to take sound decisions based on what is available before him."
•Watch out for full text of the interview tomorrow