Hey guys, this is shocking news. I heard it and felt really ashamed and disappointed in the speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly Hon Otelemaba Amachree. How can he assault his fellow house member (Hon Onari Brown)????
To read the full story click Read More. Its a long one so please read and make your Comments.
The unscheduled boxing tournament took place during a burial ceremony at Ido in Asari-Toru Local Government Area.
The Honourable members of the House of Assembly as well as other friends had all gathered in the small village as a mark of solidarity to the Speaker, Rt. Hon Otelemaba Amachree.
The deceased was an in-law to the Speaker. In a gathering like that, moreso when it involved the number 3 man in the State, it is expected that there would be a lot to eat and drink.
Burial ceremonies are seen as social outing in Kalabari land characterized by lots of funfare, partying, cultural displays, presidential treats to VIPs among whom Legislators are one.
But on this fateful Saturday, November 17, 2012, there seemed not to be enough for the visiting lawmakers especially the kind of drinks they usually take at such occasions.
The Speaker himself was not handy as he was busy organizing, co-coordinating and attending to other guests.
And this is where Hon Onari Brown came in as the closest brother, and lawmaker, Onari Brown, House Committee Chairman on Information, representing Akuku-Toru State Constituency volunteered to assist by attending to his colleagues whose tables had gone dry and begging for replacement.
The Information House Committee Chairman made it to the Deep Freezer in which the cold drinks were stocked for some drinks for the lawmakers.
All this while, Onari Brown was said to be acting in good faith, unknown to him that he was the epicenter of a rumour mill of a plot to outstage his kinsman, Otelemaba Amachree as the Speaker of the State House of Assembly. This plot is said to have reached an advance stage and would have been executed even before the legislative show of shame but for the consent of Governor Chibuike Amaechi that was not forthcoming.
Having this at the back of his mind, Speaker Otelemaba who misconstrued Onari's innocent kind gesture as an affront and invasion, cashed in on the happenstance to launch an unwarranted and unchallenged attack, not realizing that logic and cold reason are poor weapons to fight fear and distrust.
An eye witness account said he was furious in unleashing the blows on his kinsman and was not in a hurry to stop but for the quick intervention of his amazed colleagues.
Rt. Hon Otelemaba Amachree allegedly tore to pieces the clothes of his Kalabari lawmaker brother, Hon Onari Brown, hitting him to stupor and almost stripped him naked.
As he was hitting, he was quoted to be retorting “even here you still want to show off”.
Onari Brown was said to be so mesmerized that he could neither reply nor fight back for only God knows why.
The lawmakers were said to have resolved to treat the issue informally outside the floor of the House before National Network Checks blew the lid off the bottle in its last edition that rattled the leadership of the House.
On the impending impeachment of Rt. Hon Otelemaba Amachree, an inside source said the feeling of all the members of the State House of Assembly has been that of cannot help.
According to the source, the unpopularity of the House as well as most of the actions that cast question mark on the maturity and wisdom of the legislators to come up with sound legislation's derive from the Speaker's nativity and poor grasp of the rudiments of law.
Gossips say Otelemaba Amachree lacks the power-legislative, oratory and the intellectual depth to lead a vibrant group of people as Rivers State House of Assembly.
They are equally unhappy that in the face of multiple allegations that border on inefficiency and 'rubber stamp status' against the sixth Legislative Assembly, the Speaker has not been able to address any press briefing on the issues.
But whether right or wrong, true or false, if per venture Otelemaba Amachree is forced out, and going by the PDP zoning arrangement, the lot falls possibly on Onari Brown as the next Speaker.
Otelemaba Amachree represents Asari-Toru II while Onari Brown represents Akuku-Toru I. This, therefore must be the bone of contention and to stop this from happening, Onari Brown must be cowed.
But lost on Speaker Amachree is the fact that any party which takes credit for the rain must not be surprised if its opponents blame it also for the drought.
He should therefore look inwards and perhaps, begin to make amends rather than resorting to a boxing bout with his kinsman that may be innocent.
Meanwhile, the ACN spokesman, Jerry Needam has called on the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Otelemaba Amachree to resign for the dishonourable act of engaging his colleague, and House Committee Chairman on Information, Onari Brown in a physical fight, tearing his clothes and stripping him naked at a public function.
“This is gross abuse of office, Jerry Needam concluded.
All attempts made to get the Speaker's reaction to the incident met brick walls.###
It is Very sad that an incident like this will occur and the public is left to speculate. How can the speaker still in office after such a dishonourable act??
Source: National Network
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