Posted by By Bolaji Adebiyi in Lagos, Kola Ologbondiyan in Abuja and John Iwori in Yenagoa on
More troubles came the way of Governor Diepreye Alamieyese-igha of Bayelsa State yesterday as the National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party expelled him from the party, and threw its weight behind the move by the state House of Assembly to impeach him.
More troubles came the way of Governor Diepreye Alamieyese-igha of Bayelsa State yesterday as the National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party expelled him from the party, and threw its weight behind the move by the state House of Assembly to impeach him.
The expulsion, which the party's National Publicity Secretary, Mr. John Odey, said had been forwarded to its National Executive Committee for ratification, was preceded by massive protests, on the streets of Yenagoa, the state capital, of the breach of bail terms granted the governor by a London court in October.
But in a swift reaction to the developments, the governor's Ag. Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Preye Wariowei, dismissed the protests as part of an elaborate plan by the Federal Govern-ment to destabilise the state in its bid to proclaim a state of emergency.
However, PDP's Odey who announced Alamieyeseigha's expulsion in a statement issued after a meeting of the NWC in Abuja yesterday said the governor could no longer be a member of the party since his indictment by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission pointed to a wholesale contradiction of the PDP moral codes.
The party said the governor's alleged money laundering activities, which culminated in his arrest in London on September 15th 2005; the commencement of his trial, his release on bail, and his escape to Nigeria in breach of the terms of the bail were a string of contraventions of the laws of Britain and the Federal Republic of Nigeria that had thoroughly embarrassed the PDP.
'The doctrine of transparency, accountability and a corrupt-free nation, which the PDP has doggedly pursued in the last six years, has been deeply injured by these acts," the party said, adding that 'our great party cannot fold its hands in the face of this assault on its integrity and that of the nation."
Expressing its commitment to ensuring that the governor is brought to book, it called on the Federal Government to bring him to justice so that others who might be inclined to abuse their office would be deterred from doing so.
The PDP also backed actions taken so far by the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, urging it to spare no effort in carrying out its constitutional responsibilities under Section 128 (2) (b) and Section 188 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and other related laws. 'This step is necessary in order to restore integrity to the nation and our party," It said.
The party added that Alamieyeseigha's expulsion was a confirmation of his suspension by its Bayelsa State chapter last week.
For the embattled governor, the morning showed the day yesterday as a band of youths took over the streets of Yenagoa to protest his controversial return, on Monday, from London where he had been admitted to bail while standing trial for alleged money laundering.
The youth that brandished placards, said Alamieyeseigha should go back to London to clear his name, saying his escape was a serious misconduct that had compounded the growing resentment against alleged mismanagement and misappropriation of the resources of the state by him.
Some of the protesters who came in chartered buses from Port Harcourt, capital of Rivers State, sang songs, lampooning the governor just as their protest march made it difficult for motorists to move freely on the ever busy Yenagoa -Mbiama Road, the only access to the state by road.
But the governor's spokesman, Wariowei, said the protest did not represent the mood of the majority of the people, accusing external forces of fomenting trouble in the oil-rich state.
'The Government of Bayelsa State wishes to alert law-abiding citizens of the state about the on-going plot to procure miscreants, thugs and never do wells from Port-Harcourt, in Rivers State, to unleash mayhem in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital," he said in a statement yesterday at the state capital.
According to him, 'These characters have been bussed in on Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, buses, ostensibly as protesters, but given N10, 000 each to cause a maximum breach of the peace. These are not even Bayelsans, but a multi-ethnic rabble sourced from the sewers of Port Harcourt."
He said the objective of those behind the protest was to create the necessary conditions for the proclamation of a state of emergency in the state, and pave the way for their ascension to power.
'The short term plan is to capture the state's resources, in the form of its monthly Federation Account allocation, and deploy this as a massive war chest in their desperate quest for power," he said, adding that in order to facilitate the incapacitation of the state government, the state Accountant-General, Mr. Stephen Enamamu, had been held in Abuja, while the Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Solomon Apreala, had also been invited to the federal capital by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for questioning.
Wariowei, however, asked the people to remain calm trusting that the trying times would soon pass. 'These are indeed testy times; the test of a people remains their resilience. We are a resilient people, and we shall overcome!" he said.
Since Alamieyeseigha's dramatic return from London on Monday, he had been enveloped in crises. Last Tuesday, the streets of Yenagoa hosted a protest march by youths asking him to return to the British capital to clear his name.
The protest provided an impetus for 17 out of the 24 members of the House of Assembly, who relying on an indictment by the EFCC, filed an impeachment notice on him, asking him to resign within 14 days or should be prepared to be removed from office.
By Wednesday, when Alamieyeseigha in a broadcast to the state signified his intension to face his traducers, accusing the Federal Government of plotting to kill him and foment trouble in the state, the number of lawmakers arraigned against him had increased to 20.