The peace deal in Rivers State appears to have completely broken down.

The party warned that it would invoke its rules against  its  lawmakers in the House if they failed to comply with the directive .

The APC has 27 members in the assembly, with the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)  has only five lawmakers.

Caretaker Committee Chairman of the state APC Tony Okocha told reporters yesterday that the decision followed Fubara’s  outburst that the Martin Amaehwule-led Assembly had seized to exist in the eyes of the law.

Fubara had during a visit by the Bayelsa State delegation of traditional   and political leaders in Port Harcourt, said  ‘’those group of men who claim to be Assembly members are not existing. I want it to be on record that I accepted that peace accord to give them a floating (soft-landing).’’

He also told the delegation that everything  in the truce brokered by President Bola Tinubu  was political and not  constitutional.

But Okocha, who was described by the state’s  Information and Communication Commissioner  Joseph Johnson,  as lacking the locus standi to direct the governor’s impeachment,  said the APC in the state would not fold its hands and watch Fubara  “insult Mr President.”

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Accusing  the governor of not being a respecter of the rule, running the state with impunity and ridiculing Rivers State, Okocha said he(Fubara) was now a man whose ‘’head  has  become bigger than his pillow.’’

He said: “The President is the leader  of our own party. It  will  amount to stupidity on our party to sit down and see somebody who weighs less than Mr President insult him(Tinubu) under our very nose.

“It is also   absurd to see the governor begin to  intimidate  people who are members of our political party and we stand   akimbo doing nothing.

“We are   here to respond vehemently and soundly to them. And as chairman of APC Rivers  State, and as representative of Mr. President, we will not sit down here and see the governor insult Mr. President, we won’t sit down here and see the governor declare on his own as if he is a court, the seats of the Assembly members vacant.

“On Monday, the governor said there was no issues in the  state. He   was heard threatening fire and brimstone. In  fact, he  rewrote the 1999  Constitution when he said  that the House of Assembly of Rivers State does not exist and that for it  to even exist, it must be on his whims and caprices;  that whatever    they are doing is because he allowed them. That means that he has rewritten   the country’s Constitution and removed the Legislature.  He  is now running two arms of government in the state– the Executive and  Judiciary.

“This is completely absurd in whichever way you look at it. This is nothing but the tendencies of a despot, a dictator and totalitarian leader.

“To that extent, in consultation with my party, we have redirected and we’re directing the APC members who are members of the Assembly to immediately commence the impeachment of Governor Siminialayi Fubara.

“We have directed members of Rivers State House of Assembly to begin a process of impeachment of a comatose government;  a government  that does not respect the rule of law. His head has become bigger than his pillow, we will no longer tolerate it.

“He no longer respects the rule of law; he does anything he cares to do, that is impunity  and we will  not  sit down  here to see Rivers State become a laughing stock in the comity of nations. This is unacceptable.”

Information Commissioner  Johnson  said Okocha’s  directive to the lawmakers was a jamboree.  

Stating  that Okocha was only raising a smokescreen, he  claimed   that the governor never said that the state had no House of Assembly.

The commissioner  said: “Tony Okocha by definition is an acting caretaker chairman and you know once there exists a caretaker, it means there is a substantive chairman of APC in the name of Chief Emeka Beke. 

“That matter is before the jury and on the issue of whether he has the power to direct,  the answer is no.

“Section 109(1g) of the  1999 Constitution which is our ground norm has already eliminated the existence of those young men who crossed from the major political party(PDP) to another party.   APC as a matter of fact does not have leadership. They have a leadership that is Tony Okocha on one hand, in contention with Chief Emeka Beke on the other hand, so whose report shall we follow?

“So, the governor was right to say that by our own law, the 1999 Constitution   says that once an Assembly member    that has moves from his own political party that brought him to power, once he defects he losses. No court on our land can change it, once the Constitution states a thing it becomes law.

“What Tony Okocha is raising is a smokescreen. He is standing on one leg. He does not have the locus standi to direct. And let me assure you, Rivers people will resist it to the last point.”

*Clark urges IG to  wade in.

Ijaw National Leader  Edwin Clark  advised that the crisis in the state must be put to an end.

Clark, in an open letter to   Inspector General of Police Kayode Egbetokun  warned that the crisis could result in anarchy if not nipped in the bud.  

He explained that by   virtue of section 109 (1g) 2 of the 1999 Constitution, the 27 lawmakers ceased to be members of the House of Assembly  since they   defected  from the PDP to the opposition APC.

The letter partly reads:  “ We owe it as an obligation to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Government which will be one year on the 29th of May.

“We must therefore condemn and prevent any action by any individual or group of individuals that would threaten the peace, stability and unity of this country.

“We have no other country to go to if there is any uncontrollable crisis in the country and this is the main reason why I have been involved in the looming crisis in Rivers State between the former Governor  Nyesom Wike who is now the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and the current Governor, His Excellency, Siminalayi Fubara, which is spreading like wildfire and every attempt by Mr President to resolve it amicably has not succeeded.

“I had earlier advised and appealed to our President  to call his Minister Nyesom Wike to order to avoid this looming crisis and that the interest of the entire country should supersede the interest of an individual or a small group of people otherwise the consequences will be disastrous.

“The 27 former members of the Rivers State House of Assembly have automatically forfeited their seats in accordance with section 109 (1g) 2 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended .

 He therefore urged the Police IG to the   lawmakers  from parading themselves and making provocative statements to intimidate and increase tension in Rivers State which may one day burst into open conflagration.’’