The sour relationship between President Goodluck Jonathan and Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State is festering even further as governors from four northern states who were embarrassed and held hostage on Tuesday by protesters at the Port Harcourt Airport, Rivers State, when they visited Governor Rotimi Amaechi on a solidarity visit have asked Inspector-General, Mohammed Abubakar to immediately remove Joseph Mbu, the commissioner of police in the state or they would stop funding the Force.
The governors accused Mbu of political partisanship, saying his continued stay in the state would negatively affect democracy in the country.
Governors Sule Lamido of Jigawa, Babangida Aliu of Niger, Murtala Nyako of Adamawa and Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano were held up at the airport for hours by protesters allegedly sponsored by loyalists of President Goodluck Jonathan with police officers allegedly deployed to protect the protesters. They were however able to leave the airport for the Government House where they held a meeting with the embattled governor of the state.
In a statement they jointly signed and delivered to journalists while leaving the Government House, they alleged that Mbu was categorically sent to the state to distabilise it and become a major opposition to Jonathan. The statement called on the inspector general of police to hearken to the voices of reason, and immediately redeploy and discipline the commissioner, as his actions smack of unprofessionalism and political partisanship, which is unbecoming of his office.
“The way the Police is being used and abused, and with officers like Mbu in the bus, we do not see the need for state governments to fund an antagonistic Police and may be forced to reconsider our position on the financial contribution of states towards the funding of the Nigerian Police,” a part of the statement read.
“Arising from the action of the Police, and Joseph Mbu in Rivers State, the call for state police as a constitutional provision has become a necessity. We note that the events in Rivers State have again brought to the fore the issue of true federalism and the need for institutions derived from the constitutions to be allowed to function without undue interference. As federating units, we must be allowed the space to guarantee our people’s sustainable development as provided by the Constitution.”
While praising Governor Amaechi on his mature way of handling the crisis so far, they called on politicians in state to defuse tension and stop all actions capable of overheating the polity and derailing our nascent democracy. The governors commended the National Assembly for standing up against the persecution, adding that Nigerians must work together to build one united and indivisible nation as well as strengthen the country’s democracy.
Amaechi and the governors from the north had been held hostage by protesters, under the aegis of Grassroots Development Initiative (GDI), who were said to have been sponsored by those threatening to dethrone Amaechi’s government. They conveyed the protesters to the airport using buses, blocked the airport and prevented the governor, just back from Abuja, from leaving the airport as they also prevented the northern governors from going ahead with their visit.
