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The Rivers State caucus in the House of Representatives has called on the Speaker, Hon Tajudeen Abbas, to address a member of the House, Hon. Ikenga Ugochinyere, for meddling in the political crisis in Rivers State.
The leader of the caucus, Hon Dumnamene Dekor, in a statement issued on Friday, said the current situation in Rivers State does not concern Ugochinyere in any way because he is from Imo State — a state grappling with myriad political and social issues of its own, in respect of which Ugochinyere cannot find his voice.
The caucus maintained that the disagreement in Rivers has never been brought to the floor of the House of Representatives to warrant other members’ intervention in a debate.
It added that since the disagreement, Ugochinyere has thrown caution, decorum, and responsible conduct — expected of the high office he now occupies — to the wind.
The caucus stressed that Ugochinyere has instead put himself forward as a veritable tool and an agent provocateur for a cause he knows nothing about, for no other reason except to feather his nest.
It added that, unarguably, Ugochinyere’s actions in the guise of representation outside of the House impinge on the privileges of members of the caucus, the integrity of the House itself and constitute a reckless violation of the constitution, per sections 49 and 72.
The caucus said: “The attention of the Rivers Caucus in the House of Representatives has been drawn to yet another unfortunate and misleading press briefing by Hon. Ikenga Ugochinyere on Tuesday, regarding the ongoing disagreement between the governor of Rivers State and the House of Assembly, and latterly, local government chairmen.
“His latest sponsored intervention is laden with all the ingredients that characterized all his previous outings: blackmail, half-truths, outright lies, misinformation and disinformation, and malicious propaganda.
“In every instance, his prejudicial media statements also constitute a thoughtless assault on due process and ongoing judicial processes aimed at resolving the disagreement in Rivers. As our colleague who sits in the House of Representatives today courtesy of the judgment of a court, that is beyond embarrassing.
“Consequently, we hereby publicly call on the leadership of the House of Representatives to take urgent steps to discipline and rein in this errant member who is gradually bringing disrepute to the House and soliciting the support of some gullible members without fully disclosing his pecuniary interest.”
