By Charles Igbo
The Rivers State Government has removed the Clerk of the State House of Assembly, Emeka Amadi, from office. Removed, also, from office is Amadi’s Deputy, Calistus Ojirika.
The Memo which removed both men from office, was signed by the Head of Service, Dr George Nweke and released on Thursday.
Amadi was redeployed to the State Scholarship Board while Ojirika was posted to the Readers Project..
Titled “Rivers State Government Effects New Postings in Rivers Civil Service”, it reads: “The Head of Service, Dr George Nweke, vide Circular No. A238/VOL.XV(15)81, dated 20th November 2023, has affected some postings in the State’s Civil Service.
Nweke wrote: “Mr Emeka Amadi, Clerk of the Rivers State House of Assembly is now deployed to the Scholarship Board.
“Mr I.K. Calistus Ojirika, Deputy Clerk and Head of the Lehislative Department in the House of Assembly is now posted to the Readers Project, while Mr Georgewill Otto an Assistant Director in the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development is now moved to Rivers State Small Town and Rural Water Supply Agency.
The postings, the Memo said, takes immediate effect.
Even though no reason was given for the redeployment, it may not be unconnected with the face-off between the Governor of the State, Siminalayi Fubara, and his immediate predecessor and political godfather, now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike. The face-off sparked a crisis within the Assembly, and factionalised it into two. The crisis became public when the faction loyal to Wike attempted to impeach the Governor. While the attempt failed, nothing has remained the same either in the State or in the Assembly. The Assembly has two Speakers. The faction headed by Martin Amaewhule, Speaker from the onset, is pro-Wike. But the day the impeachment move failed, the faction loyal to the Governor, impeached him and elected Ehie Edison as the new Speaker.
Both factions are operating independently of each other. And, even though a Federal High Court in Port Harcourt had stopped both factions from sitting, the faction loyal to Wike had allegedly sat since then, a move which prompted the Fubara faction to go back to the Federal Court to ask that Speaker Amaewhule and his Deputy, Dumle Maol, be committed to jail for contempt of Court.
