AMAECHI & 25th OCTOBER: Implication On Rivers State And The Nation A Decade After (PART ONE)

By

Eze Chukwuemeka Eze

“The fact remains that apart from May 27th 1967 the date in which Rivers State was created by the then Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon; 25th October, 2007 is another great date in the annals of Rivers State as an entity. This day was not only epochal, sacrosanct, monumental but historical in the politics of Rivers State as the outcome of the Supreme Court bold judgement on this day redefined the politics of Rivers State and enhanced the potentials of Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi the major character in this episode in his contributions to the development and emancipation of Rivers State and the national politics as a whole” – Eze

Preamble

Marcus Garvey in one of his popular quotes stated, “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots” while to Harriet Tubman , “every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world”. These great minds in these quotes set the aim of this treatise aimed to examine a date in which a dreamer actualised his dream against all odds to prove that he with God is mightier than any mere mortal and their strategies. This epochal and monumental date that changed the annals of Rivers State politics and redefine not only the Judiciary but the electoral laws governing Nigeria is the main aim of this treatise.

The fact remains that apart from May 27th 1967 the date in which Rivers State was created by the then Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon; 25th October, 2007 is another great date in the annals of Rivers State as an entity. This day was not only epochal, sacrosanct, monumental but historical in the politics of Rivers State as the outcome of the Supreme Court bold judgement on this day redefined the politics of Rivers State and enhanced the potentials of Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi the major character in this episode in his contributions to the development and emancipation of Rivers State and the national politics as a whole.

Amaechi explains the significance of 25th October, 2007

Capturing this significance of this great day the principal actor in this event, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi described the tenth anniversary of the celebration of this day thus, “Ten years today, God answered our prayers. Ten years today, God installed us as Government of Rivers State. God answered mightily today, ten years ago. God refused to put us to shame and showed our betrayals and traducers that he was with us. Ten years today, God showed to the world that he is God and that man is not God. He answered in such a way that we overcame all the challenges that confronted us in government. I hear that they say God has abandoned us, the last I knew about them I know that they are not God. The bible says faith without works is death. We must gird our loins and put our knees to the ground and call upon that same God not to glorify betrayal. He will answer and answer mightily”.

Prince Tonye Princewill reacting to the tenth anniversary of this great day stated and I quote, “Time flies. That great day brought us together and renewed my faith in God.  Though we have had our ups and our downs, I see now, why one must be led come rain or shine. And follow, through thick and thin. Being part of a family demands that. All families have a leader. I trust your judgement. It is why I am here. You will not lead us into shame.”

A brief insight of what makes this date (25th October, 2007) unique in the history of Rivers State and Judiciary in Nigeria

It was the K-legged episode that resulted to the outright hijack of the 2007 PDP gubernatorial ticket which Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi won ahead of the 14th April, 2007 election in Rivers State. This occurred, despite his landslide victory at the primaries where he clinched 6,527 of the 6,575 possible votes while seven other aspirants that included political heavy weights like; Hon. Chief Austin Okpara, a former Deputy Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives; late Senator Martin Yellowe; Pawariso Horsfall; and Mr.Chris Orji shared the remaining 48 votes amongst themselves. Amaechi’s name was subsequently forwarded to the National Electoral Commission on December 14, 2006 in compliance with Section 32(1) & (2) of the Electoral Act 2006. INEC then duly published Amaechi’s name as the gubernatorial candidate of the People’s Democratic Party in Rivers State.

The story however took a different dimension, when speaking at the presentation of the party flags to its gubernatorial candidates at the Liberation Stadium, Port Harcourt, former President and then Leader of PDP; Chief Olusegun Obasanjo declared that Amaechi’s candidacy had “k-leg”. Following this outright abuse of office, the dreaded bulldog that was the Ribadu led Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was let loose on Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi subsequently resulting in his decision to seek legal redress for his travails. Suffice it to say, Amaechi went on self imposed exile to Ghana and the powers that be further showed their contempt for him by selecting his cousin Sir Celestine Omehia; who neither purchased nor filled a form as PDP flag Bearer in his stead.  

THE GREAT JUDGEMENT OF THE SUPREME COURT

Let me reiterate that in the politics of Nigeria, apart from Alh. Atiku Abubakar (GCON), former Vice President of Nigeria, who utilized his knowledge of the power and impact of the Judiciary to exert his office in the hands of the very powerful President, General Olusegun Obasanjo who had wanted to remove him from office by any means as the then Vice-president of Nigeria, no other Nigerian politician can boast of using the Judiciary to the fullest to achieve his political mission like Rt. Hon. Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State. To some schools of thought, ex-Governor Amaechi was the creation of the judiciary and that is the main thrust of this attempt to unravel what role the judiciary may have played in the political struggles of this enigma of Nigerian politics.

Amaechi’s vindication came with the 25th October, 2007 ruling by the Nigerian Supreme Court declaring Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi not only the authentic flag-bearer of PDP but also declaring that he be sworn in to immediately replace Omehia who had previously been sworn in on May 29, 2007 as the Governor of Rivers State.  Thus, he became the first person to occupy the office of governor in the country without technically standing for election. In explaining the ruling, the Supreme Court has since stated that it is the party that contests elections and that the PDP won the gubernatorial elections, and that, consequently, Amaechi, being the rightful candidate, should assume power as governor.

Three years after: The two celebrations On The Judgment at Port Harcourt

On that fateful day at his spacious mansion situated in GRA, Port Harcourt constructed within five months of his aborted rule as the Governor of Rivers State; Sir Celestine Omehia and his supporters gathered to mourn what they termed as a dark Thursday where the Supreme Court ousted Sir Omehia as the Governor of Rivers State; at the same date and time his cousin, Rt. Hon Chuibike Rotimi Amaechi met with his own supporters at the hall of the Rivers State House of Assembly where he held forte for eight years as the Speaker to celebrate what he termed an Act of God.

To Sir Celestine Omehia the ruling of the Supreme Court ousting him from office on that 25th October, 2007 was a dark and black Thursday while on the other hand; Rt. Hon. Amaechi sees it as divine. Speaking during the commemoration, Sir Omehia said, it was a dark Thursday that would never be wished away. “Today we are here for a special mission in commemoration of what happened on the 25th day of October 2007”, Omehia stated in his speech, “That was the day that the people of Rivers State were disenfranchised, the day the people of Rivers State were denied of their votes, the day I will call the dark Thursday of the year and it will ever remain dark in the history of Rivers politics. It is a dark Thursday in the history of democracy in Nigeria. That was the day that the constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria was turned upside down for personal interest. That was the day people used their personal interest to destroy what 140 million people agreed to be in our constitution”.

Conducting a service tagged “Take over service” men of God, led by Bishop Emma Ogu, prayed for the return of Sir Omehia to take over the mantle of leadership of the State. Bishop Ogu said the dark Thursday would be redeemed by the service they have conducted within 68 days when Sir Omehia will be restored back to power. Funny enough, this prophecy and prayer never came to pass as Amaechi not only served his first term of four years but served his second tenure accordingly.

On the other divide of the town, Rt. Hon Chibuike Amaechi while addressing his own supporters in what he titled ‘…You Must Not Sleep On Your Rights’; Speaking at the colloquium on jurisprudence and the rule of law in Rivers State, an event put together to celebrate four years of his supreme court victory of Thursday, October 25, 2007, the governor, who challenged all permutations and alliances against his governorship ambition before and after the April 14, 2007 governorship election in Rivers State urged Nigerians never to sleep on their rights. The governor faulted the Nigerian masses for their inactivity, noting that the populace largely and easily appears helpless in the face of challenges, especially before the powers that be. He urged the Nigerian populace to stand up and take their rights from politicians rather than allow them to wrongly meddle in their destiny. He, however noted that only Senator Ifeanyi Araraume and himself summoned up the courage to challenge the then almighty power and won their liberation through the courts, given which effort his governorship dreams materialized, while those who went to sleep on their rights never made it. He corroborated earlier statements by Chief Godpower Ake, the PDP chairman in the State that most PDP members and the Nigerian populace were helpless before former president; Chief Olusegun Obasanjo whose decisions could hardly be challenged and who had then declared that Amaechi’s governorship bid had a k-leg.

Amaechi is not the type of leader who will suggest to his followers to take any risk without him being at the forefront of such a risk, that is why Ken Kesey after careful study of his uncommon risk and feats embarked upon to revalidate his mandate stated and I quote, “You don’t lead by pointing and telling people some place to go. You lead by going to that place and making a case.”  The fact remains that to be a good leader, you sometimes need to go down the untraveled path. Being bold in the face of uncertainty will help give your team courage and motivate them to keep striving when the going gets tough and this is the hallmark of Amaechi and his type of politics.

Throwing more light on the K-legged episode and the 25th October, 2007 Supreme Court judgment, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi stated, “Unknown to most of the electorates and probably to the PDP Leadership was that, the Supreme Court had said that in the eyes of the law people were voting for me and no one can question that. They were correct because at the time that the election was taking place, the ruling of Binta Nyako setting aside Omehia’s substitution for not complying with her order had not been quashed and there was no appeal against that judgment that succeeded. And they did not appeal until after the election when they cross- appealed. This meant that as at the time the election was taking place, Omehia wasn’t a candidate. I was the candidate, but I wasn’t strong enough to face the former President so I quietly went to Ghana until his tenure was over”. In other words, both President General Olusgen Obasanjo, Sir Celestine Omehia the assumed flag-bearer of PDP during the guber election in Rivers State in 2007 with Chief Abiye Sekibo as the Returning Officer of PDP and their cohorts were indirectly without knowing campaigning and voting for Amaechi who was cooling off with his family.

Omehia Fights Back

Not satisfied with the Supreme Court judgment of 25th October, 2007 that upheld Amaechi as the Governor of Rivers State, Sir Celestine Omehia the five months Governor of Rivers State approached the Supreme Court in 2010 to reverse her judgement and reinstate him back as Governor of Rivers State.

The court quashed the decision of an appeal court which gave Mr. Omehia a temporary win that suggested he may oust Mr. Amaechi after seven years in office.
Justice Muhammad Muntaka-Coomassie, who read the Supreme Court judgement, said the Court of Appeal in Abuja erred in law to have ruled in favour of Mr. Omehia, whom the judge said had no stake in the case he filed in court.

Ahead of the 2011 election, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Cyprian Chukwu, asked a Federal High Court in Abuja to interpret the Supreme Court judgment on Mr. Amaechi’s tenure. The court was to specifically decide whether Mr. Amaechi can stand election in April of 2011, or should wait to the expiration of his tenure in October. In his ruling, Justice Abdul Kafarati affirmed that the governorship election in Rivers State must hold during the general election of April 2011. Mr. Omehia, not related to the case, accused the PDP man, Mr. Chukwu, of being a front for Governor Amaechi; and promptly appealed to the Court of Appeal to make him a party to the suit, to enable him appeal the judgment.

Through his lawyer, Lateef Fagbemi, Mr. Amaechi kicked against the appeal arguing that Mr. Omehia had nothing from start to do with the case. Mr. Omehia however responded that since he was a party in the Supreme Court judgment that had given the governorship to Mr. Amaechi, he was affected by the new decision and deserved to be heard.

He also told the court that as a prospective governorship candidate in future election in the state, he had a stake in the matter. The Appeal Court agreed, while Mr. Amaechi appealed to the Supreme Court. In its ruling, the Supreme Court upheld Mr. Amaechi’s appeal and declared that Mr. Omehia had no case on the matter. The judge that read the ruling, Mr. Muntaka-Coomassie, said Mr. Omehia should not have been joined in the suit since he was not a party to the initial suit that culminated in an appeal. Mr. Omehia’s Counsel, James Ezike, expressed his dissatisfaction with the ruling, and insisted that under Section 243 of the 1999 Constitution as amended; his client was an interested party in the suit. Mr. Omehia, he said, was “a person, who is affected or likely to be affected by the outcome of any proceedings at the apex court’’. The Rivers Government, however, said it was pleased with the outcome.

“As a government, we believe that the court remains the last hope that we can go to. We thank God for the Supreme Court of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” the state commissioner of information, Ibim Semenitari, said. Also, the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, which Mr. Amaechi now belongs, said the ruling “should serve as a warning to all those who insist on the way of the moving train known as Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi.”

This was yet another victory for Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, as he once more floored his arch-rival, Sir Celestine Omehia, at the Nigerian apex court in Abuja.

GENERAL OLUSEGUN OBASANJO VISITS RIVERS STATE TO COMMISSION 16 WORLD CLASS PROJECTS IN REMINISCENCE OF 25TH OCTOBER, 2007 SUPREME COURT JUDGEMENT

On 17th to 18th February, 2014 the world was taken aback when General Olusegun Obasanjo who declared the nomination of Amaechi as PDP Flag-Bearer for the 2007 gubernatorial election as having K-leg visited Rivers State to commission 16 completed world-class projects completed by Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi then Governor of Rivers State after seven years of his nomination as the PDP candidate was declared of having K-leg.

The projects commissioned include the G.U. Ake road at Eliozu; Okporo road connecting Artillery and the East-West road; Elekahia-Rumuomasi road; Ken Saro-Wiwa road; Ambassador Nne Kurubo Model Secondary School at Ebube, Eleme; a Health Centre at Akpajo; Songhai Farm, Bunu Tai off Afam Road; Tai Model Primary School; and Banana Plantation Project, Afam Power Station, 2×60 MV/132/33 KVA – Elelenwo Sub-Injection Station. Others include No. 1 Field (Mini Football Stadium); No. 2 Field (Basketball Indoor Hall and Athletes Hostel); No. 5 Field (Tennis Court/Volleyball Court and Spectators Stands); St. Andrew’s Primary School, Mile 1, Diobu; Prof. Kelsey Harrison Hospital, Emenike Street, Mile 1, Diobu; and Buguma Modern Fish Farm, Asari Toru LGA.
Hailing Governor Amaechi for his administration’s developmental strides, Chief Olusegun stated and I quote: “I came to see developments and I have seen developments and I will confess developments! What I have seen is worth declaring! The area of health, education, Agriculture, Sports and road infrastructure is worth declaring. When I see development I earmark, eye mark and mouthmark.”

With this historical visit the challenge of Amaechi’s K-Leg was finally straightened. This was a visit dubbed “concerted efforts” by the then Supervising Minister of Education , Chief Nyesom Wike, and some other mischievous members of his party, PDP, to discourage Obasanjo from going ahead with the visit. “This act proves contrary to Chief Nyesom Wike’s assertion that all the projects executed by Gov. Amaechi were sited only in Port Harcourt to the detriment of other local government areas as 75% of the projects commissioned by Obasanjo were located in other LGAs of the State. Commissioning of these high-class and people-oriented projects executed by the Chibuike Amaechi administration put his critics, who have been accusing him of under-performance and favouritism to shame as I can comfortably declare Amaechi as “Rivers State Emancipator and Development Pillar.” While to Chief Oby Ndukwe a Media guru based in Port Harcourt this should be termed as Amaechi, “Mr Legacy and His Legacies”

–http://www.theparadigmng.com/2014/02/19/obasanjos-commissions-world-class-projects-in-rivers-state/

THE 50 SIGNIFICANCES OF THE 25TH OCTOBER, 2017 SC JUDGEMENT (PART ONE)

1. This historical judgement brought up the revolutionary Amaechi who within eight years rebuilt Rivers State to the envy of the entire world and opened up Rivers State as Investors haven.
2. This judgement re-secured Port Harcourt that was hitherto described by the Human Resources Unit of New York-based Marsh & McLennan Cos. as a war zone and jungle before Amaechi came on board. It sounds pretty surprising but not unexpected that the city of Port Harcourt, a once very glamorous city, was ranked among the three most dangerous cities in the world by then after Baghdad, Yemen’s capital of Sana’a and Khartoum in Sudan. Going by the ranking published by Bloomberg before Amaechi assumed office, Port Harcourt ranked with Baghdad as one of the world’s most dangerous cities for foreign workers as criminal gangs and militia groups seeking greater control of energy revenue step up attacks.
3. This epochal judgement brought up Amaechi whose policies in Education, Health, Security, Urban Renewal, Agriculture, Transportation and Infrastructural revolution in Rivers State became the envy of other State Governments in Nigeria.

04.This judgement succeeded in making Port Harcourt the Book Festival and UNESCO World Book capital City for the year 2014, making her the 14th city in the world to be selected as World Book Capital and the first in Black Africa beating 10 other great cities that include Oxford in England and Moscow in Russia.

05.This judgement succeeded to expose Dr. Goodluck Jonathan former President of Nigeria as an autocratic and undemocratic fellow capable to declare that 16 votes is superior to 19 votes and could cede the oil wells of Rivers State to his home State, Bayelsa without following due process.

6. This judgement thrown up Amaechi to spearhead the ouster of a sitting President (Dr. Jonathan) in a very powerful political party like PDP structured to rule Nigeria for 60 good years.
7. This great day created and granted Amaechi the ability to challenge the decision of one of the Africa’s most powerful Head of States, General Olusegun Obasanjo when he stated that his election has K-leg.
8. This judgement inspired and prepared Amaechi to plot the victory of General Muhammadu Buhari who has ran for elections four times without succeeding to become the first opposition political leader to be elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

09.This judgement motivated Amaechi to initiate the construction of Monorail project in Rivers State  the first of such a model in Nigeria which he  now reproduced and replicated at the Federal level that have culminated in the current railway revolution in Nigeria with plot to link all the States in Nigeria through Rail Lines.

10. This judgement prepared Amaechi in such a way to be able to survive the type of media warfare, propaganda, animosity and onslaught launched against him and still succeeded to be screened by the Senate and sworn in as a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. A feat that is uncommon.

11.This judgement prepared Amaechi and granted him the sagacity to recommend Chief Nyesom Ezebunwo Wike to be appointed a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria an office which he used to schemed himself to become the Governor of Rivers State.

12. This judgement made Senator Magnus Abe the Secretary to the Rivers State Government and two time ranking Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
13. This judgement thrown up Dr Dakuku Peterside an ingenious enigma whose sagacity brought up the turning of NIAMSA to an outstanding Institution that is capable of remitting a whopping sum of N21.805bn to the Federation Account in less than two years in office and became the first Nigerian to be elected as the Chairman and President of the Association of African Maritime Administrations (AAMA).
14. This judgement exposed Amaechi as an exemplary democrat who could allow the scion of the Kalabari Kingdom, Prince Tonye Princewill who contested election against PDP to head the Forum of Organised Opposition Political Parties (FOOPP) the umbrella body of all the opposition political parties in Rivers State and permitted him to nominate two Commissioners of high repute into the State Executive Council of Rivers State (Barr Osima Ginah for Urban Development and Dr Ibiamu Ikanya as Commissioner for Special Duties). This feat is unprecedented in Nigeria where opposition or opposing views is not encouraged or supported.
15. This judgement granted unmerited privilege to Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze to suggest to a sitting Governor as powerful as Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi that Dr Davies Ibiamu Ikanya one of the opposition political leaders then to be reappointed into the Rivers State Executive Council and he obliged.
16. Please, don’t be offended, permit me to ask this question, if not for this judgement, which Governor in Nigeria would have had the gut to mobilise other six Governors to challenge a sitting President and appointed one Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze to be the National Publicity Secretary of the then New PDP that collaborated with other groups to give birth to the APC that dislodged PDP from the centre.
17. This judgement made Senator Andrew Uchendu to be elected a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria against all odds to the chagrin of a man that termed himself as the High Tension Wire of Rivers State (Wike)
18. My good friend, Chief Uche Secondus the ‘Total Chair’ described Amaechi as the‘Nebuchadnezzar’ when he was on exile but because of this judgement, Amaechi told him you can no longer be a junior officer in the National PDP Executive Council and by the time he could say My Governor, he was announced as the National Organising Secretary of PDP which made him to call Amaechi, Ogbuagu!  Ogbuagu!! (He who kills the Tiger) and Amaechi counselled him that he can’t bear the same title with his master Dr. Peter Odili who holds the traditional title of Ogbuagu in the State.
19. This judgement made it possible for my own very brother, the amiable and gentle but fearless giant, H. E. Oji N. Ngofa the Bulldozer of Rivers State politics to be appointed the Ambassador for Netherlands.
20. If not for this date, tell me who would have conceived the idea that Ibim Sementari will one day be appointed to Head an Organisation like NDDC?
21. This judgement created the opportunity for Amaechi to send out thousands of Rivers State children to study abroad through the Scholarship Scheme he instituted. Sadly some of these students who are now at their final year are now wandering like fugitives because Wike who took over from the Lion of Niger Delta doesn’t know the importance of education or the need of these students to have sound education stopped the Scheme.
22. This judgement granted Amaechi the favour, sagacity, God’s grace, humility, If not somebody should tell me how Amaechi could have survived the onslaught of the Ex- First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan with her ‘attack dog’, AIG Joseph Mbu who was determined to truncate the destiny of Amaechi not knowing that he who is with God is mightier than mere mortals with evil minds.
23. If not for this date, tell me how Amaechi could have survived the plot to unseat him using five Law Makers in a Rivers State House of Assembly with 32 Legislators. This reminds me of the risky parts played by Dr. Chidi Llyod and Mr. Debiwari to secure our democracy which I wonder what would have been the fates of some of us by now if these two great gentlemen did not do the needful to save our democracy from the hands of undemocratic and evil minded fellows that were determined to impeach and disgrace Amaechi out of office.
24. If not for this date, somebody should tell me how Amaechi could have survived the Ekiti attack when his plane was hijacked on the order of the Federal Government or the Kano attack when he has to abandon his plane and drove himself in the night to Abuja to avoid the plot to arrest him for visiting the incumbent Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi
25. The importance of this date can’t be overemphasised but if I have the powers, I will declare this day a public holiday every year in Rivers State.

The remaining 25 significances will be listed in Part two of this treatise.

Conclusion

Amaechi has proved that he is a cat with nine lives and sadly those that ought to know him better have resolved to gang up to castigate and describe him as a nobody who shouldn’t have any say on who should fly the flag of APC come 2019 in Rivers State, a party that we all know that he used his blood to establish in Rivers State. I laugh at their hallucination and wonder how these men who benefitted so much from him and prevented some of us from approaching him may have forgotten not only the parts he played in their lives or that their enemies just want to truncate their political lives in Rivers State without them knowing. The future will tell.

My happiness is that Chibuike means ‘God is all Powerful’ and Rotimi, an abridged version of Oluwadurotimi, means ‘the Lord stands by me’, while Amaechi means ‘who knows tomorrow? So let those who think that they can run down Amaechi continue with their illusionary dreams.

Kudos must go to all members of Rivers Success Movement (RSM) which was the official voice of the Believers in 2007. This was the political movement coordinating the validation of Amaechi’s mandate then. Piloted by the never die Azubuike Chikere Nwanjoku (Byke) and hosted the first meeting in his house. Ordinance Emeji who was sleeping in the church to ensure the success of this struggle needs commendation. Dr Sampson Parker a gentle man who did all within his powers to keep this struggle alive and recommended us (Tonye Princewill’s Political Family) to Amaechi while on exile that he Amaechi need to collaborate with us after watching our zeal, resoluteness, bravery against the injustice meted out to Amaechi during this period. Another great person though unsung in this struggle that need to be mentioned is Chief Oby Ndukwe who turned down a tempting offer from the Omehia’s camp to ditch the struggle but preferred to stick with the movement not minding the odds.

In conclusion, it wouldn’t be possible to recall all the key people that played one part or the other to actualise the feat of 25th October, 2007 for special commendation but I am convinced that something is being done to do a book that will articulate and capture some of the personalities and events that actualised this change agent in the political life of Nigeria for posterity. But for lack of space, let me mention few names like George Tolofari the unsung leader who led his colleagues in the RSHA to sustain the struggle and ensured that the manoeuvre to impeach Amaechi in order to nullify the struggle did not see the light of the day. He was the one that stopped Amaechi from going to the stadium to raise Omehia’s hand during the PDP Flag-off of its State wide campaign for the 2007 general elections which if he had done would have put paid to the 25thOctober Supreme Court judgement and the Amaechi we know today may have been an illusion.

Other great names in this struggle will be mentioned in the second segment of this treatise together with the remaining significances of this divine judgement.

Eze Chukwuemeka Eze is a Media Consultant based in Port Harcourt, Rivers State and can be reached through, ezemediaconcept2020@gmail.com, 08022049770