Tuesday, 23 June 2015

Rivers Assembly tackles Amaechi over handover note

Fomer Rivers State  Governor, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi

THE Rivers State House of Assembly has passed a resolution directing the State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Emmanuel Aguma, to take legal steps to compel the immediate past governor of the state, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, to present his (former governor) handover note to the Governor Nyesom Wike administration.

Members of the House, who sat on Tuesday, expressed dissatisfaction over Amaechi’s refusal to present a handover note to Wike.

Twenty-eight lawmakers had passed the resolution after the member representing Degema State Constituency, Dr. Farah Dagogo, moved a motion that the former governor should be compelled to make available his handover note to the current administration.


Dagogo had argued while moving the motion that the Wike administration was in the dark as far as assets and liabilities of the state were concerned as a result of the refusal of the immediate past administration to hand over to his successor.

He said, “Part of our oversight function is to prevent people and institutions from doing the wrong thing. If we fail to do this, we are setting a bad precedence in the state.

“This is why this motion is exigent, considering the fact that the past administration failed to give a handover note. As it stands now, the current position of the state finances is unknown because the state is in a precarious position.”

Also, the lawmaker representing Asari-Toru Contituency 1, Mr. Enemi Alabo George, explained that government was a continuum anywhere in the world, adding that Amaechi’s action could set a bad precedence if not tackled immediately.

In his remark, the House Leader, Mr. Martin Amaewhule, cautioned that government business must be conducted in the interest of the state, adding that no one should be seen to be above the law.

Amaewhule told the House that that the state attorney general should be directed to employ all possible means within the law to compel the former governor to present a handover note to the state governor.

However, the Speaker of the House, Mr. Ikuinyi-Owaji Ibani, who spoke on the matter, expressed delight over the motion moved by Dagogo and added that Rivers remained bigger than any individual.

In another resolution, the House ordered the Permanent Secretary, Director of Finance and Accounts and the Director of Constituency Projects in the Ministry of Works to appear before the House on Thursday to explain how constituency projects in the state were executed from 2012 to 2014.

The Leader of the House, Martin Amaewhule, had moved a motion for a review of the impact of constituency projects from 2012 to 2014 in the state.

A legislator representing Port Harcourt Constituency I, Mr. Jones Ogbonda, disagreed with the motion, arguing that constituency project remains a privilege and not right.

According to Ogbonda, issues concerning constituency projects should not be debated on the floor of the House.


PUNCH

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