EMBATTLED Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum and Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, yesterday, maintained that only undemocratic governors were supporting his rivalry and Governor of Plateau State, Jonah Jang.
Amaechi who spoke at a symposium on Review of the 1999 Constitution and its impact on the much needed judicial reforms, organized in Abuja by the Rule of Law
Amaechi
Foundation, said he was surprised that even Governor Jang, who he said participated in the election that saw his re-emergence as the NGF chairman, turned around to thwart a process he said was impeccable and highly transparent.
He further stressed that aside Jang, all the other governors that attended NGF meeting on the day the election was held, voluntarily participated in the exercise. In attendance at the symposium were two former Chief Justices of Nigeria, Muhammadu Uwais and Dahiru Musdapher, the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, Justice Sylvester Nguta of the Supreme Court and the Attorney General of Ekiti State, Wale Fapohunda.
Besides, Amaechi, wondered why Jang, after voting during the election, made a volte-face to claim that he was ab-initio endorsed to take over the leadership of the NGF.
He said: “NBA cannot afford to lose their voice. NBA has lost its voice. For NBA to see a free and fair election where 35 governors that govern 35 states and make decisions for hundreds of millions of people and for NBA to say ‘if you cannot organize yourselves dissolve. Then you have lost your voice.
“I want to say it and I want to be put on record, anyone who supports the Jang faction is undemocratic. We chose who should be the returning officer. We appointed our director general to be the returning officer for the election. And we voted. Everybody voted including Jang.
In fact, Jang was among the first persons to vote. And when I won, they were there. We were to commence voting for the chairmanship when my brother and colleague from Akwa Ibom got up and said there was a document I had where 19 governors had signed for us.
And Jang said northern governors forum supported him but the same northern governors voted and they should have, therefore, voted for him. He said PDP governors supported him at a meeting before the election, so they should have voted for him.
What Jang is leading is another faction of PDP governors forum and not the NGF, because there are no two governors forum.”
“Therefore anyone, NBA, or government that supports Jang’s faction is undemocratic.
“Let us put it on record that the way things are going, 2015 we should be careful it does not end in this manner where people we win democratic election and those in power will not accept the result of a free and fair election. My lords be prepared because we shall soon be coming to your court.
“We must defend democracy. We must defend Nigeria because we don’t have any other country.
“My Lords we must be prepared. As you did in 2007. We must be prepared.
“We have started again with tyranny and oppression. We must be prepared as a people to defend our rights. We must be prepared as a people to hold government accountable.
“We must be prepared to demand for accountability
“We must resist a situation where public officers without statutory authority would call the Inspector General of Police to change commissioner of police, we must resist it.”
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