BY ONYEKACHUKWU IBEZIM – Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara has warned there will be no sacred cows as prosecution awaits perpetrators of attacks on Local Government Secretariats across the state.
Vowing to implement the report of the State Commission of Inquiry on the destruction of local government secretariats, no matter who is involved, Governor Fubara said an end must come to “unreasonable violence” in Rivers politics.
Speaking when the Commission’s Chairman, Justice Ibiwengi Minakiri, a serving judge of the State High Court, presented their report at the Government House in Port Harcourt, the Governor maintained that politics should not be synonymous with violence but a contest of ideas without permanent enemies or friends.
He praised the Commission for its resilience in completing the task despite attempts to derail its work, including legal challenges and other forms of obstruction.
Expressing surprise that some people opposed a Commission committed to uncovering the truth, Governor Fubara said it unthinkable that individuals who invested in building the Councils’ headquarters would visit destruction on their legacies.
The Governor, while making reference to certain incidents in the recent past, said one may easily link those that perpetrated and sponsored the attacks on Council Secretariats to previous violent acts in the oil-rich state, including the bombing of Courts before the 2015 elections.
He defended his position on accountability and transparency in governance, warning that no one, himself included, is above the law.
In her remarks while presenting the Commission’s report, the Chairman, Justice Ibiwengi Minakiri explained the methodology adopted for its compilation, disclosing that visits were undertaken to the affected local government areas.
She said these Council areas visited were Khana, Eleme, Ikwerre, Emohua, and Obio/Akpor which formed that basis for the Commission to verify claims contained in memoranda submitted by different groups and individuals.
According to Justice Minakiri, proceedings at the Seven-member Commission unearthed several hidden facts about the State, adding that their assignment was concluded on November 28, which met the stipulated 30 days stipulated in the Commission in the Terms of Reference (ToR)
She said the report, which is in four volumes, includes memoranda, exhibits, records of proceedings, and findings.
The Commission Chairman assured that the recommendations when fully implemented by the government would ensure lasting and sustainable peace within Rivers State.
While noting that some individuals indicted in the memoranda failed to appear before the Commission for their defence, Justice Minakiri expressed confidence that the report’s implementation would deter future violence and restore stability across Rivers State
