RIVERS’ STATE OF EMERGENCY: House Decision Not Based on Any Inducement, Says Minority Leader Chinda

By Pan Afric Reporters|NASS|Abuja.

By the Supreme Court Judgment, Sam Anyanwu remain the National Secretary of our party, People Democratic Party (PDP) and  our party will emerge stronger

In an exclusive interview, the Minority Leader of the Nigerian House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Kingsley Chinda (PDP) representing Obia/Akpo Federal Constituency of Rivers State addressed various pressing national issues, including the recent state of emergency declared in Rivers State, the  roles of opposition in the Nigerian democracy and the internal conflicts within the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

Regarding the state of emergency in Rivers State, the Minority Leader in a media parley with journalist from the National Assembly New Media Forum who paid him a birthday celebration visit in his National Assembly office clarified that the decision was not taken lightly, neither was the decision of the House taken based on Inducement as speculated; highlighting the need to prioritize the safety and well-being of citizens as the bases for the decision of the House of Representatives.

“let me say that the decision was not based on any inducement whatsoever. And again, I have heard the criticism. If you were in chambers that day, what happened was that we had an executive session, and at the executive session, we have vast positions discuss on the issues, and we were given further and better information as to reasons why Mr. president declared the state of emergency. Some of these are security information, they are not things that you throw open to the entire public. And having been convinced, members now said, we need to rejig some of the conditions a little bit, the interest of this country should be paramount. And that we agreed.

“If you look at it, what we said was that, first, Mr. president can call it off when the situation in rivers state becomes calm, whether within the six months or even before the six months.

Secondly, the areas that has to do with the powers of parliament that appeared to some members to have been touched that they should be restored. And then the third amendment.

“So when we agreed on all this, we came to the open as usual, like I have told you before, and then the vote was taken for the constitution provides for 2/3.

“But also remember that there is assumption of correctness in every action of Parliament unless it is disputed by any member. So every action, every process, every procedure in Parliament, constitutionally, is assumed to be correct, except when a member disputes it. when we took the vote, if one nay had come up, that nay can ask for division of the house, and then you can do head count, or you divide the house how you so wish to and then do the count.

On the proceedings and process of the plenary, the minority leader aligned with manner the proceedings and process went in the Green Chamber’s plenary and said…

“The important thing that the speaker did was to confirm if quorum had been formed, which was the only objection that came from members, Hon. Obiacha, Fred Abedi, all talked about quorum, and quorum for sitting of parliament is 1/3, the quorum was formed to take on the side of caution. The speaker went ahead to ask that the required 2/3 must be in chambers before vote is taken. And so at that point from the register, he was informed that we were 243, he now felt that, since 240 was quorum, that he could go ahead.

“Let me also put it clear, that we were more than 243 in that chambers on that day asides, that our rules also provides that members can participate virtually, so those who are participating virtually were also not there and were also not counted. But the long and short of it is that those who are been critical, let them tell us one member who came up on the floor to say, look, I’m not satisfied with this vote, the house should be divided. And that was not done.

“You know, people should understand there are procedure there are processes. Yes, nobody is doubting that two third is a requirement. What procedure? The Constitution did not say that you do head count to achieve two third. And we have our house rules, and we also have constitutional provision. We were prepared for head count, but you will do it if it is necessary. If you have achieved over 240 and everybody said yes, nobody said Nay. The speaker had to put the question three times to be sure, of course. The reason why he was repeating the question was to be sure if there is any nay so that we can do a head count. But there was no nay.

Justifying the action of Mr. President for declaring the state of emergency in Rivers State, Chinda says

“And let me also say again, for every declaration of state of emergency, there must be a reason for it. If you look at the Constitution, the Constitution provides that if there is natural disaster, you can declare a state of emergency. Your target is to take care of that natural disaster and ensure that Nigerians do not die in cause of that natural disaster. If there is attack, for example, by Cameroon, against Nigeria, you can declare a state of emergency, and the essence is for military to move in and curb that attack and secure the territory of the country.

“In this situation where you have problem and crisis emanating from two arms of government, and your target is to take care of that problem and that crisis. What do you do? You leave them to continue to fight or declare a state of emergency?

“I’m from River State, and I am affected. I’m happy that we did not lose one life. Even my state assembly members were angry that they were thrown under the carpet. We had to plead with them. I asked some of them if we had continued this and maybe your security man or your PA, or even yourself becomes the casualty. Would I even be happy? I am prepare to sacrifice my seat as a member here and ensure that no life in rivers state is lost. So when people talk, people should talk with facts that they have on ground. What is the reason for declaration of the state of emergency? What do you want to salvage by the declaration of state of emergency? It’s not for fancy. It’s for a reason and if the state of emergency was not declared and battle for the impeachment of the governor continue, what would’ve happened now in a case where national petroleum assets are being destroyed.

Chinda also touched on concerns about Nigeria’s democratic system and the rule of the opposition, reassuring that the PDP remains committed to its role as a viable opposition party.

Chinda reiterated the roles of the opposition and achievements of the opposition especially in the 10th House of Representatives against the belief that there ought be scenario where parliamentarians are blowing and hitting at each other, insulting and attaching themselves to justify the roles of the opposition.

Presenting his fact, he said “let me say that the passage of the tax reform bills, it’s one of the evidence of the fight  of opposition which we assured you we are going to have in place in Parliament. I know that for Nigerians, if they don’t see parliamentarians blowing, hitting at each other, insulting and attacking themselves, they feel that there is no opposition in Parliament. But we have been here long enough, and out of experience, we have concluded that that has not paid off for us as a nation and as a country. We have fought for several years in Parliament, but we saw insecurity increasing, we saw economic woes increasing. So we decided that we are going to make our impact having the interest of Nigerians at the back of our mind, not seeking for popularity, not seeking for our colleagues from the public, but ensuring that we do our work very studiously and then get results.

“The Tax Reform Bill  is one of such result. When the tax bill came, we saw that the bill was not good enough for Nigerians, and we started the push for a reform of that bill. We believe, that Nigeria needed a change in her tax system, and so our tax laws were due for reform. So the spirit of the tax bill was good, but the letter had issues that we needed to rejig, and when all that came up, we went into the room with the leadership of the National Assembly and pointed out the areas that Nigerians are complaining of which we believe that their complaint were genuine and correct complaints, these things were looked at in the house, and that’s why it was delayed. We insisted, and it was stepped down. Took our time to do in house cleaning of the bill, all the contentious areas, proper consultation, from the Governor’s forum to state parliament and several organizations, including religious groups, all the opinion were taken into consideration in the House, and when we had tidied that up completely, We came back to the floor of the parliament to now look at it and ensure that what we had agreed is exactly what is brought to the floor of Parliament, and we passed it with ease. We didn’t need to fight to record that success. And so today we have a tax bill, but however, I will still say that what we have cannot be said to be perfect, because there is no law that is perfect, and that’s why you have provision for amendment. But what we have today as a tax bill is far better than what was presented to us. If you look at it and the interest of the populace, I think that I can say that the tax bill as it is now, is welcome, but it is still work in progress.”

The Minority Leader’s remarks come at a critical juncture in Nigeria’s political landscape, as the country navigates complex challenges and prepares for future elections expressed optimism that his party PDP will overcome its current challenges, stating, “We have had in-house fighting; we will come out stronger. This one will not be different, gave his position on the recent Supreme Court Judgement on the part leadership.

“On the issue of Supreme Court Judgment, it is clear, I will advise that people should endeavor to read before they come to public space to attempt to deceive the public. It doesn’t pay us. It’s embarrassing as a political party that a judgment of court will be given, and then you hear people misinterpreting the judgment and giving various interpretations even within very high level of the party.

“Look, let me tell you that judgment must not be to my favor. But once there is a judgment, there is a judgment, and if it is Supreme Court, I don’t have any option than to align with it and look for a way to ensure that we make progress.

“The judgment is clear. The verdict of the court of  appeal was upheld. Judgment of the lower court was set aside, and the Court ruled that, look, the person who brought the suit, that the person was a busy body, and Obi Okoye himself an interloper, and that Sam Anyanwu  was never removed from office. And so he remains the national secretary of the party. It’s simple that issues of leadership are internal matters of the party, and so that the Court of First Instance ought not to have even exercised jurisdiction over the matter. So all the misinterpretations, I don’t know what they intend to achieve, that is causing more problem within our party.

“We have a legal adviser. I think that if anybody is in doubt, he should please approach the national legal adviser of the party who is in a position to tell you clearly what the position of the Supreme Court is, not for the National organizing secretary to cause the kind of confusion that is causing.

“We are not happy about that, but because we are party men, we don’t want to join issues. We don’t want to continue to wash our dirty linens outside. We will caution ourselves to please, bridle our tongue. Let us be slow in going to the public to discuss party issues. From the supreme court judgment, Sam Anyanwu is the national secretary of the party.” He said.