The Chairperson of the Rivers State faction of the Labour Party, Hilda Dokubo, has described the recent political crisis in Rivers State as an abuse of democracy.

The Martin Amaewhule-led faction of the Rivers State House of Assembly initiated impeachment proceedings against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy over allegations of gross misconduct, plunging the state into another wave of political crisis.

Speaking on News Central, Dokubo berated the Rivers State House of Assembly for initiating impeachment proceedings, calling the lawmakers’ actions unconstitutional.

“This particular administration has often done things that are not constitutional, and some of us have continued to question the constitutionality of what is happening and if we have already thrown away the 1999 constitution as amended.

“If we have, then we must make it clear to the people because the people in offices keep breaking the rules, and so we don’t know what constitution they are operating on,” said Dokubo.

She added that if the lawmakers are successful in the impeachment process, it could set a bad precedent for other state houses of assembly.

“But let us look into the weaponisation of it. If this is allowed to happen in Rivers State, then the other governors should be ready. It means that once your house of assembly members feel they have not been considered in anything, they can impeach anybody.

“I think it is an abuse of our democracy, on us as a people, especially the Rivers people. We have had three governors before now, and we didn’t have all this drama,” the Rivers State Labour Party Chairperson added.

Dokubo is not the only one who has knocked the Rivers State House of Assembly for threatening to impeach the state governor and questioned the constitutionality of the proceedings.

A former Rivers lawmaker, Ogbonna Nwuke, had opined that the ongoing impeachment process in Rivers State reflects political disagreement rather than offences. Nwuke added that the impeachment process is a result of a political disagreement between Fubara and his predecessor, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.

Dokubo and Nwuke’s positions on the crisis are similar, with both agreeing that it stems from a disagreement between Wike and Fubara, whose relationship began as a mentor-protégé pairing and later soured.

She further noted that the crisis does not adequately reflect politics, adding that those who hold that view are misinformed.

“We have had three governors before now, and we didn’t have all this drama. All these things are coming up everywhere just because of one man. All of it does not make sense, no matter how you choose to look at it, and the fact that people think this is politics; this man is strong, that man is weak.

“It says how ill-informed most of us already are because if you are taking sides with your oppressor, then something is wrong with your mental state. For me, I think every governor should watch out, and they should ensure this does not happen,” Dokubo added. (The Guardian)

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