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Seventeen of the 24 members of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly yesterday formally served Governor D.S.P. Alamieyes-eigha an impeachment notice. He is expected to either resign or react to the petition within 14 days.
Seventeen of the 24 members of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly yesterday formally served Governor D.S.P. Alamieyes-eigha an impeachment notice. He is expected to either resign or react to the petition within 14 days.
Also, the Assembly men called on the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to investigate an alleged threat to their lives by agents of the governor, adding that Yenagoa was in turmoil.
They explained that their actions were guided by the need to restore sanity to the state.
The notice, which came barely 48 hours after Alamie-yeiseigha's dramatic return to the country, following his arrest over money laundering charges, is said to be hinged upon his gross misconducts, which were unbecoming of a chief executive officer of a state.
Addressing newsmen in Lagos, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Hon. Ebebi Peremobowei, said the impeachment notice was in tandem with the wishes and aspiration of Bayelsans. The charges against the governor ranged from money laundering, jumping of bail, frequency in his overseas trips among others.
Peremobowei, who was flanked by his deputy, Hon. Bright Erewari, and eight other lawmakers, said the assembly decided to serve the impeachment, following what he described as "the embarrasment, which Governor Diepreye Alamieyeiseigha has brought to the people of Bayelsa and Nigeria in general".
According to him, "You are all aware of the events in Bayelsa, how our governor was arrested, how he escaped and has now become a fugitive".
Continuing, the Speaker said, "The House got a report from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), where it mandated us to look into the development concerning the governor," adding that after "we looked at the report, the Assembly decided that we should serve him the impeachment notice on eight grounds".
He noted that the notice was with the support of 17 out of the 24 lawmakers in the Assembly, stating that the number constitutionally was his response more than the 2/3 constitutionally required for such a process.
Recalling what made the lawmakers relocate to Lagos for the press briefing, Peremobowei said while they were about serving him (Alamieyeiseigha) the impeachment notice, the security situation in the state capital, Yenogoa changed.
"And before it (impeachment notice) could be sent to him, the security situation changed in Yenogoa. We have served him the notice and we expect him to resign or react to the notice by sending to my office (Speaker) within 14 days for the normal constitutional process to take place", he stressed.
He expressed regret that a person of Alamieyeiseigha's calibre could through his action bring the reputation and integrity of the nation to disrepute, stating that " a man, who disguised as a woman should not be fit to be the governor of the state".
Asked why it took this long before such an impeachment notice could be served, Peremobowei said "we were agitated, while he was in London that he should resign but he refused only for him to return the way he did".
The Speaker noted that whatever the action they might have taken was with the support and blessings of Bayelsans, adding that "they were aware that Nigerians were waiting to see what they would do.
He said that "Bayelsan could no longer fold their hands and watch the disrespectful actions of the governor and the unfolding developments in the state".
The members who signed the notice are: Hon. Ebebi Peremobowei (Speaker); Hon. Bright Erewari (Deputy Speaker); Hon. Osomu Augustus Elliot; Hon. Nelson Belief; Hon. Dein Benadoumene; Hon. (Chief) Adolphus E. Ofongo; Hon. (Chief) Arthur Apeti; Hon. Seigbarugu Wernipre; Hon. Robert Enogha; Hon. Franklin Otele; Hon. Fanama Emomotimi; Hon. Kalabo Hawkin; Hon. Etebu Amakiri; Hon. Otobo N. Opusiri; Hon. Youssou Amakayo; Hon. Jephthah Foingha and Hon. Nadu Keinbi.
But despite moves to unseat him, Alamieyeseigha yesterday pledged his loyalty to President Olusegun Obasanjo and the Federal Government, saying the President needed the support of every Nigerian to move the country forward.
The embattled governor spoke against the backdrop of mixed reactions to his dramatic return from London where he was standing trial on charges of money laundering.
While a band of protesters trooped to the streets of Yenagoa yesterday, demonstrating against the governor's alleged misdemeanors; a coalition of Ijaw Youths paid him a solidarity visit and asked for peace and calm among all Ijaw.
Speaking to the youths who visited him at the Government House, Alamieyeseigha called on Nigerians to rally round Obasanjo and pray for the continued stability and unity of Nigeria. "Bayelsa State Government is loyal to the Federal Government of Nigeria. The government and people of the state are committed to the indivisibility and insolubility of the country. We must remain united to move the country forward," he told the youths.
Noting that Bayelsa had been contributing to the growth of the country and would continue to do so, the governor asked the people to pray to God to release what he had in store for the Ijaw nation.
Alamieyeseigha who said how he got out of London was still a mystery to him, added that his ordeal had further strengthened him to tackle the developmental problems of the state.
He said he was gratified that his people remained steadfast and stood solidly behind him during his travails in London, explaining that he did not expect sympathy from any quarters since he knew that leadership had a price.
The governor lauded the people for keeping the peace during his absence and said while constantly praying to God to avert any situation that would bring about chaos, he would work towards maintaining the peace at all times.
Speaking on behalf of the youths, which comprised the Ijaw Republican Assembly (IRA), the Ijaw Monitoring Group, National Association of Ijaw Female Students and the Niger Delta Peoples Salvation Front, Mr. Charles Harry advised the Ijaw to put the travails of the governor behind them and urged them to hand everything over to God.
But rather than leave everything to God, some youths decided to take their destiny in their own hands yesterday as they took to the streets protesting the governorís escape from London. "The governor has brought disrepute to the state, and we demand his arrest and repatriation to London to continue his trial," they said.
The protest, which a government official alleged was part of the efforts by Abuja to destabilize Yenagoa in order to prepare the grand for proclamation of a state of emergency, started from the Harbour Road end of Yenagoa, the state capital, paralyzing business activities as shops and other commercial outlets were temporarily shut down.
Marching along the streets, the demonstrators chanted war songs, backed with the placards with inscriptions such as, "ALAMCO is a criminal"; "We support the position of EFCC".
Speaking with THISDAY, a spokesman of the aggrieved youths, Chief Broadfield Agbago, from Igbogene-Epie, in Yenagoa Local Government Area of the state, said they wanted the governor to return to London and clear his name. "The entire people of Bayelsa State do not want Alamieyeseigha anymore as a governor of the state, and we are simply withdrawing our mandate given to him to continue to govern us," he said.
Agbago added, "We are tired of the governor's misrule; no water, no electricity. We are fed up with his style of leadership. As you can see, protesters are drawn from all the local government areas of the state; that is to tell you that the entire state is tired of him."
A government official, however, dismissed the protest as the handiwork of the Federal Government, which he alleged was aimed at creating chaos in the state. "The target is to set the ground for a state of emergency by all means; sack the democratically-elected government of Chief D.S.P. Alamieyeseigha, and impose an unelected sole administrator who can be manipulated by Abuja," he said.
The government officialís position was, however, contradicted by the state's Chapter of the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP), which described the governorís return ìas not only sad, but unfortunate, and an embarrassment to the state."
The CNPP in a statement yesterday in Yenagoa, and signed by its Chairman, Mr. Miriki Ebikebina, asked state government to shun sycophants and commercial politicians, who had little or no vision for the state. "The controversial return of the state governor, rather than unveiling the uncertainty that have prevailed in the state, with the economic lives of the people stagnated, it has further kept the situation more complex with uncertainties," it said.
CNPP noted with regret that rather than use the controversial return of the governor to reflect on the predicament of the state, as well as the likely implication of the mysterious return of the governor, sycophants had decided to hijack and explore it, not only for funfair but use it as an avenue to make a fortune and misguide statements.
The mood outside Bayelsa yesterday was also not conciliatory as the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) described the governorís escape from London as despicable and asked the Federal Government to compel the Bayelsa State House of Assembly to impeach him immediately.
According to the ACF Secretary- General, Col. Hameed Ali rtd., the Federal Government should also extradite the governor to London to face trial for alleged money laundering. "Whatever efforts we are making in the fight against corruption, if serving governors can commit criminal offences and be arrested outside the shores of this country and are being prosecuted and they jump bail and get back to Nigeria as serving governors, it is appalling and we think it is a disgrace to Nigeria," it said.