Posted by From Josephine Lohor in Abuja, John Iwori in Yenagoa and Toba Suleman in Abeokuta on
Barely 24 hours after the Bayelsa State House of Assembly asked the state Governor, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, to resign from office or face impeachment, the governor has taken the battle to the doorsteps of the Federal Government, accusing it of plotting to eliminate him.
* 20 House members sign impeachment notice
Barely 24 hours after the Bayelsa State House of Assembly asked the state Governor, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, to resign from office or face impeachment, the governor has taken the battle to the doorsteps of the Federal Government, accusing it of plotting to eliminate him.
Picking up the gauntlet yesterday in a broadcast to the people of the state at Yenagoa, the state capital, the governor dismissed as 'scandalous and unacceptable" the impeachment notice by the lawmakers, saying it was part of a power game plan to remove him from office without due process.
'Even as I speak to you, I have it on good authority that there is a plan to assassinate or kidnap me. As a prelude to that plan, my official security is already being withdrawn. This is a repeat of the Anambra scenario. It is bound to fail," he said.
Asking the people to pray for him to have the strength to surmount the odds against him, Alamieyeseigha said events since his arrest in London on September 15, including the charge of money laundering leveled against him, which culminated in Tuesday's notice of impeachment, showed that he was 'a pawn in an elaborate power game staged in a foreign land."
Seventeen of the 24-member Bayelsa Assembly had Tuesday, at news conference in Lagos, asked the governor, who, on Monday morning, returned dramatically from London where he was standing trial for alleged money laundering, to resign within 14 days or face impeachment for gross misconducts.
By yesterday, however, the number of lawmakers who have signed his impeachment notice increased to 20. The new signatories are Hon. Dudafa Waripamo, Hon. N. Ayamu and Hon. Ofomi Williams.
But the governor in his broadcast said the said notice, which he claimed he had not received, was a smokescreen, adding that he was being persecuted for his political beliefs.
'I dare say that I am being persecuted on account of the convictions I have continued to promote about the need for justice, equity and fair play in our nation," he said, explaining that the motive for the onslaught against him was to derail the struggles of the minorities for the control of their natural resources.
He accused the Federal Government of intervening in the affairs of the state, saying the incessant invitations being extended to his officials by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC),was not only a violation of the principle of federalism, but had become a veritable weapon for blackmailing of his government.
According to the governor, such activities are 'to say the least not in the best interest of democracy and our national interes."
He vowed to defend his mandate which he claimed had come under relentless attack from the Federal Government since September 15. 'I consider that [my] mandate to be sacred and sovereign. I will continue to defend it," he said.
The governor's broadcast had been preceded by a meeting of the state executive council, which was not attended by his deputy, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, sparking off speculations that there might be been a crack in his house.
Although a top government official told THISDAY that the deputy governor had asked his boss to excuse him from the meeting for undisclosed reasons, it was however gathered that Jonathan might have decided to keep his distance in order not to be seen to be on the side of Alamieyeseigha.
The governor, however, in an apparent attempt to ward off speculations of a division in his government said he had nothing against his deputy who held forth for him when he was marooned in London for more than two months while facing charges of laundering. The deputy governor's absence coincided with the state branch of the Peoples Democratic Party's support for the impeachment process as it asked the governor to resign or be removed from office for his alleged misdemeanors. The Federal Government said yesterday in Abuja that it was awaiting detailed briefings from the British Government before it could make any statement.
Yesterday's weekly council meeting was the first since Alamieyeseigha's dramatic return. Jonathan who acted for him was expected give a full briefing of what transpired during the governor's absence.
Noting the absence of Jonathan, Alamieyeseigha said he bore no grudge against anybody, urging the people of the state to see the recent development as a challenge that would be overcome. 'I want to assure you that there is no love lost and whatever has happened in the past should be forgotten so as to move the state forward. As for me, nobody has offended me. Leadership has a price and that is what I took the risk."
He told his council colleagues that he would continue to serve the state and Nigeria very diligently, adding that no one should entertain any fear about the leadership crisis in the state as he was equal to the task of surmounting the challenges. 'Power is not given free," he said.
Alamieyeseigha who reported for work Monday said there were council decisions that could not be taken in his absence by his deputy because of the constitutional restraints. One of such, he said, was the 2006 Appropriation Bill.
Briefing newsmen on the outcome of the meeting, the Commissioner for Information, Culture and Strategy, Mr. Oronto Douglas, said the state government had got security report that the Federal Government had deployed troops and 10 gunboats of Operation Restore Hope to Amabolo Community in Ekeremor Local Government Area.
Oronto who was flanked by his Finance counterpart, Mr. Solomon Aprealla, said that it would not be in the interest of the citizenry, maintenance of law and order to create a crisis situation in the state.
He further stated that communities which were yet to make an input to the 2006 appropriation estimates under the state's community budgeting initiative should do so immediately.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has said that despite the concern and anxiety of Nigerians, it will not make any statement on the escape of the Bayelsa State governor from London until it has been briefed by the British government.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Frank Nweke, spoke after the meeting of the Federal Executive Council in Abuja saying the Executive Chairman of EFCC, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, had already addressed the press on the issue.
He said, 'We understand clearly the craving by Nigerians for information on this matter, but we also understand the need for care. Care in the sense that we must be responsible enough to make sure that we provide wholesome information, credible information to the Nigerian people. As we speak, we are waiting for formal and appropriate information from the British authorities after which we will then react."
The minister allayed fears that the governor's action might have a negative effect on the British government's perception of Nigerians, saying, 'our position is that there are at least 150 million Nigerians today and the act or activities of just one man should not be used to judge the character and the activities of other several millions of Nigerians."
Urging Nigerians to be patient, he said the Federal Government had activated the appropriate channel for obtaining relevant information on the incident.
As the minister called for caution, the British High Commission yesterday deplored Alamiey-eseigha's breach of his bail terms, and reiterated that in consequence of this, his assets worth approximately 10 million pounds remained frozen as ordered by a London court.
The High Commission, in a brief statement in Abuja, said the London Metropolitan Police Service had confirmed that the governor had breached the bail conditions granted him by a London court.
Alamieyeseigha was arrested and arraigned before the Southwark Crown Court in London on charges of money laundering involving about one million pounds, and was subsequently granted bail on six conditions, including daily reporting to a police station. He was also not to travel outside London or move close to any port.
But the High Commission expressed regrets that Alamieyeseigha returned to Nigeria in breach of these conditions and said he had put in jeopardy sureties totaling $1.25 million even as his assets estimated at 10 millions pounds remained frozen.
It also said his travel documents would remain in the custody of the Metropolitan Police, explaining that the appropriate authorities were sourcing a warrant for his arrest.
The High Commission explained further that courts in Britain had a liberal attitude towards bail, stating that they would normally grant bail in cases where a person charged to court was not deemed to be a threat to public order. 'Those bailed are not put under 24 hour surveillance," it said in a veiled explanation as to why it was possible for Alamieyeseigha to jump bail.
Pledging its support for the anti-graft war in the country, it said, 'The UK government is staunchly committed to fighting against crime in Nigeria and elsewhere.''
The British pledge of support for the war boosted the anti-graft crusaders resolve yesterday as more Nigerians called on the Federal Government to ensure that Alamieyeseigha returned to London to clear his name.
In Abeokuta, the former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Bola Ajibola, said it would be difficult for the Bayelsa State governor to escape justice since under international extradition treaty, Nigeria would be obliged to hand him offer to Britain for trial, once the demand was made.
Also, the Ondo and Plateau States chapter of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), in separate statements in Akure and Jos said the breach of his bail conditions were not only embarrassing, but unbefitting of a person of his political stature.