The Rivers State Caucus in the House of Representatives has dissociated itself from a statement credited to one of its members, Hon. Dum Deekor who has wanted who had earlier issued a statement purportedly on behalf of the caucus.
Disclaiming Deekor’s statement, the leader of the caucus, Hon. Awaji-Inombek D. Abiante stated that the Rivers caucus according to the tradition of the parliament that recognises seniority in its leadership formation stating that that Hon. Dum Deekor being a second term member of the Rivers State caucus in the presence of 3rd and 4th term members.
Commenting on the disparaging remarks against Hon. Ikenga Ugochinyere who has been a frontline commenter on the political crisis in Rivers State. The Rivers State caucus’ leader stated that Ugochinyere as a member of the House of Representatives reserves the right to speak on issues affecting any part of Nigeria including Rivers State.
The full statement reads:
“The Rivers State Caucus in the House of Representatives read with dismay a statement purportedly issued by the member representing Khana/Gokana Federal Constituency, Dumnamene Deekor calling for the discipline of the Coordinator of the G-60 Lawmakers in the Green Chamber, Ugochinyere Ikenga over his position on vexed issues in the polity.
“While we wouldn’t stand against the popular phrase: ‘everybody is entitled to his opinion’, we refuse to collectively accede to Dum Deekor’s self-serving stands as he has never been elected by the Rivers State Caucus to speak on our behalf.
“It is a trite knowledge and backed by precedence that the Leadership of the Rivers State Caucus in the House of Representatives and the National Assembly are based on seniority. Hon Dum Deekor being a second-term lawmaker cannot arrogate to himself the position of Caucus Leader in the midst of 3rd and 4th term lawmakers.
“For the records, Deekor was properly elected in 2019 having lost his seat in 2015 at the Court of Appeal which barred him from being a member of the 8th Assembly. He was recently reelected in 2023 to serve his second term in the House. This alone disqualifies him from jostling for the leadership of the Rivers State Caucus.
“We call on the general public to discount Dum Deekor’s statement as vituperations of a god being.
“The National Assembly is not guided by Village Council’s rules and as such everyone reserves the right to make contributions in line with his innate conviction. Hon Ugochinyere has in the estimation of right-thinking Nigerians proven himself in the act of quality representation.
“Dum Dekor should realize that a member of the National Assembly is not only representing his immediate constituency but also the entire Nigeria as he is entitled to make comments or speak on issues that threaten the peace of any part of the country for which we all took oath to preserve and protect.
“Dum who claims to be an experienced legislator should have known this fact and allowed Ugochinyere to speak on matters that affect any part of the country as a bonafide member of the National Assembly”
Recall that Hon. Dum Deekor had lashed out at Ugochinyere over his various comments on the ongoing political crisis in Rivers State. Accusing the Imo lawmaker of unnecessarily meddling in the affairs Rivers State, Deekor had said that, “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.”