The Senate on Thursday urged the Inspector General of Police to immediately redeploy, Mr Joseph Mbu, the Commissioner of Police in Rivers.
The Senate also restated its resolve to defend the constitution at all times, while it resolved to take over the functions of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
The Senate said it would take over the functions pending the resolution of the crisis between the loyalists of Gov. Chibuike Amaechi, and the opposition lawmakers.
It, however, urged its President, Sen. David mark, to mediate between the principal actors in the assembly crisis.
The resolution followed the consideration of the report of the Senate Committee on States and Local Government Administration, mandated to investigate the crisis in Rivers.
Mark, who spoke after a closed session which lasted about three hours, said the objective was to ensure that peace return to Rivers to engender development.
He said the Senate would not relent in its determination to defend the sanctity of the Constitution at all times and for no reason, accept any breach of the constitution.
“The National Assembly will uphold and defend the constitution as we all individually swore to do, and this we will do at all times and at all cost.
“Let me leave no one in doubt that the impunities of the past remain in the past, and the past is gone for good. All that is left is for the proper lessons to be learnt from the past.
“Minority members of the Rivers House of Assembly cannot remove, and should therefore, never contemplate the impeachment of the speaker or anyone else.
“This National Assembly for the avoidance of doubt will resist impunity and unconstitutionality. This is the stand of the Senate.
“Once more, I must emphasis that we remain neutral, and we want to see an end to the crisis in Rivers,’’ he said.
Earlier, the Chairman of the committee, Sen. Kabiru Gaya, said it held meetings with all groups involved to ensure amicable resolution of the crisis.
“Our mission was to find out the root cause of the crisis in order to find solution to the problem. We did not go there to indict anybody, but to find solution to the misunderstanding,’’ Gaya said.
Sen. Magnus Abe (PDP- Rivers) said the Senate resolution should serve as a window of opportunity for all stakeholders to bury their differences and give peace a chance.
“What it means is that for the time being, the Rivers State House of Assembly is no longer competent to make any laws for Rivers.
“What we can do now as stakeholders is to use the opportunity provided by the Senate and see that we bring peace to the state.
“The important thing to note in the Senate intervention is that impunity will no longer be tolerated from any quarters and that the constitution of Nigeria is sacrosanct,’’ Abe said.
The takeover, under Section 11(4) of the Constitution, the Rivers House of Assembly can no longer make laws for the state.
