ONE major characteristic of politics is how prone it is to disagreements. Disagreements are sometimes so strong and persistent that it becomes problematic to really resolve them as exemplified by the disputed outcome of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum election (NGF).

Curiously, though not entirely unexpected, the outcome of the result has been marred by controversy due to refusal of the pro-President Goodluck Jonathan governors led by Governor Jonah Jang (now factional chairman of the NGF) and Governor Godswill Akpabio (chairman PDP Governors Forum) to concede defeat to the Amaechi group.

There are insinuations that Amaechi contested the NGF election contrary to the wish of President Jonathan, who is believed to be nurturing the ambition to seek re-election in 2015. Most of the President’s supporters in the Governors’ Forum and particularly in the Niger Delta think Amaechi has ulterior plans to use the Forum as a launch pad for his own purported vice presidential ambition come 2015, even though Amaechi has repeatedly denied that he plans to contest the election.

The NGF election has generated a lot of controversy such that truth appears to be real casualty. Governor Amaechi who got 19 votes out the 35-vote cast as illustrated by a video recording, has insisted that the election was free and fair. Whereas, the arrowhead of the pro-Jonathan forces, Governor Akpabio has descried the NGF polls as a sham and that Governor Jang, who got 16 votes is the authentic NGF chairman.

Amaechi, while reacting to Jang’s claim wondered why people prefer to believe some things that are not true or not supported by the evidence.

“We (governors) agreed to voting, and all the governors voted. So, any governor who said he didn’t vote is lying against the nation because all of us are on oath to govern properly; so, we should not lie. Every governor voted; you will see the video.  If we leaders of Nigeria today are refusing to accept the results of a properly organised election, supervised by the Director General of the Governors’ Forum, and somebody brought a paper that was signed in April; if you check that list, it was signed in April and you brought it on May 24 after the governors had finished voting, then what is that? That list is not part of our election,” said Amaechi.

The outcome of the election has polarized the Niger Delta region and assumed ethnic coloration. Someone like Anyakwee Nsirimovu has lauded Amaechi’s victory irrespective of the odds against him, while the likes of Ijaw activist, Asari Dokubo has accused the governor of being treacherous.

Niger Delta Civil Society Coalition (NDCSC) chairman, Nsirimovu, said the NGF poll which returned Amaechi is a vote for principled democracy, and a deadly attack to submission to civilian tyranny and its resultant impunity, which has pervaded Rivers State and the nation in the past couple of weeks. He stressed that despite all the grandstanding by the enemies of democracy, as represented by Governor Akpabio, the will of the body of thirty-six state governors have spoken.

“NDCSC calls on governor Amaechi who showed exceptional bravery and courage in standing up in the face of naked show of tyranny and impunity, to use same courage in consciously and deliberately authoring participatory democracy, where democratic structures are no longer mere facades, where popular sovereignty, accountability of rulers, freedom of speech, assembly and the rule of law, in which all citizens are equal before the law, no one is above the law, become the rule, not the exception in Rivers State. The peoples of Rivers State must become his primary constituency, the focal of all rational policy actions and outcomes, not the known cliques who tell tales for their own stomach sake solely,” he said.

Nsirimovu has, meanwhile, urged President Jonathan to discourage any proliferation of crisis or sow seeds of crisis, by implicitly or expressly urging his allies to accept the result of the elections of the NGF, withdraw forthwith the parallel egoistic parades of Mr. Akpabio, who is clearly a very bad loser, and his colleagues, as this is quickly brings Mr. President’s democratic standing to its lowest ebb in a global world that is watching most keenly.

But former Ijaw Youth Council president and leader of the Niger Delta Volunteer Force, Asari Dokuku, has labeled Governor Amaechi as traitor, on the premises of the governor’s alleged vice presidential ambition, which is deemed as a threat to the aspiration of President Jonathan.

He argued that the outcome of the NGF election and the controversy that has trailed it is a reflection of the Nigerian state.  According to him, the election has exposed the cleavage in the political structure of the country further. To buttress this, he pointed out that apart from Governor Amaechi and his Imo State counterpart, all the governors in the former Eastern region supported the pro-Jonathan candidate.

“For me, this is a great victory for the people of the South-South and the Southeast in our march. So anybody who is on the other side of the divide is a traitor.  Yes, he (Amaechi) is. I have always said it that he is a traitor and he will be treated like a traitor,” said Dokubo.

He said the goals of the people of the South-South and the Southeast is to be at par with the other geopolitical zones and have equal access to political positions and gains. Hence, should anybody from the old Eastern region has an ambition that is at variance with that of his people, then the person is a traitor.

Last Monday, while Amaechi was still basking and relishing his 48th birthday, the National Working Committee of the PDP announced his suspension from the party , an action which the governor has described as most bizarre and tantamount to political witch hunt.

The national executive of the PDP had suspended the governor based on a petition by the Rivers State PDP faction led by Felix Obuah, which alleged that the governor had refused to reinstate the suspended Obio-Akpor Local Government council chairman, Timothy Nsirim and 17 councilors. The council officials were suspended by the Rivers state House of Assembly who had already dragged the PDP to court.

It will be recalled that the PDP chairman in Rivers State, Felix Obuah, who is an ally of the Minister of State for Education, Nyesom Wike, had in April issued a 48 hour-ultimatum to Governor Amaechi to explain the true status of the State’s Bombardier BD 700 Global Express jet, or risk disciplinary action. Obuah, who the Amaechi faction of the party has persistently accused of being a usurper due to the fact that he did not participate in the March 2012 state congress that produced Godspower Ake as chairman, is believed to be acting a script, whose ultimate end is the removal of the governor from office. Obuah has meanwhile refuted this allegation.

Governor Amaechi has denied involvement in the suspension of the Obio-Akpor officials and has questioned the rationality of the PDP NWC action, which he accused of political victimization.

“Now, if the House of Assembly therefore decides to suspend the council chairman, how does it affect Governor Amaechi? Am I involved? So you can see that the party is witch hunting. They called an emergence meeting of NWC by 7 am, when everybody wasstill looking for how to take their bath. If our party obeys rules, law and order, the matter is in court, can the House do anything when the matter is in court; can anybody do anything? Do we really want to obey laws? Are they obeying laws?” he asked.

Chairman House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) Hon. Dakuku Peterside, has described the suspension of Governor Amaechi as a bad omen and a major setback to Nigeria’s quest for true democracy.

“This news is baffling and a major blow to lovers of democracy because it violates the right of an individual to associate freely, to vote and be voted for in any democratic process. The NGF is not an extension of PDP, thus not governed by the constitution of the PDP. This is also a major impediment to PDP’s future as a party, as Amaechi is seen in Nigeria today as one of the most outstanding governors. What would it benefit a political party to suspend its most performing governor?” he said.

Another member of the House of Representatives representing Etche/Omuma federal constituency of Rivers State, Ogbonna Nwuke, has dismissed the allegation that Governor Amaechi wants to ruin President Jonathan’s ambition in 2015. According to him, there is nothing that stops the President from re-contesting in 2015 if Nigerians accept him.

“ What we are saying is that we ought to put our house (PDP) together and you cannot achieve that with intimidation. With what Amaechi has done in terms of development in Rivers State, such a person cannot betray the aspiration of the Niger Delta,” said Nwuke.

Retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Adolphus Karibi Whyte, has criticized those plotting against Governor Amaechi and has urged politicians to uphold the truth, justice and accept fairness.

“As all of us know, they are all conspirators. The conspiracy runs foul when it is directed towards a wrong motive. When it is a conspiracy which is destructive, which is oppressive and which makes it difficult for the common man to admire what is going on, then there is a foreboding of anarchy,” said Karibi-Whyte.

Political observers, like Kingsley Kalu, said the ruling PDP deserves to be blamed for lack of cohesion and the party’s disastrous performance at the NGF election.  He has urged the President, who is the leader of the PDP to prevail on the party to lift Amaechi’s suspension and stop moves by some centripetal forces in Abuja from destabilizing Rivers State.

Kalu told The Guardian that the loss of the pro-presidency candidate to Amaechi’s group is a pointer that the PDP has a lot more hard work to do ahead of 2015. Elections, according to him, are about people and they must ensure that they appeal to all Nigerians and not just a section of the country like the South-South and Southeast, where majority of their governors allegedly voted for Governor Jang.

At the time of filing this report, Obio-Akpor council secretariat remains barricaded by the Police despite a Federal High Court order directing an end to the siege and a planned statewide industrial action by labour unions.

There are signs that some pro-Amaechi state lawmakers might have joined the Abuja forces against Governor Amaechi, as part of a grand ploy to impeach him. That could be a herculean task. Between five to eight lawmakers are alleged to have been compromised and are making moves to impeach the governor. But they may not gather enough numbers to go ahead with the threat.