Wike/Fubara fight a threat to democracy - Lawyers

The crisis that has engulfed Rivers State following the face-off between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor, the former governor and now FCT minister, Chief Nyesom Wike is unfortunate.

The crisis which was brewing for some months finally blew open on Sunday October 29 when some sections of the state House of Assembly were burnt following moves by 24 lawmakers to impeach Governor Fubara.

The governor had also alleged an assassination attempt on him by some compromised police officers, who allegedly shot live bullets as he visited to assess the extent of damage caused by the Sunday night bombing of the Assembly complex by some hoodlums. Governor Fubara asked the 24 state lawmakers who commenced a process to impeach him and were said to be loyal to former Governor Nyesom Wike, to show justification for their actions.

He said, “If Siminalayi Fubara is impeached, I won’t be the first, neither would I be the last. But what is important is that any attempt that is not justified will be resisted. Let them come out and tell Rivers people the offence that I have committed to warrant impeachment”. 26 of the 31 lawmakers later suspended the Speaker, Martins Amaehwule and three others and thereafter elected and inaugurated the leader of the House, Hon. Edison Ehie, as their new speaker. While there were calls for the intervention of President Bola Tinubu and other eminent Nigerians, a new twist was added to the political drama as 27 of the lawmakers defected from the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, to All Progressive Congress, APC. The remaining four lawmakers then sat and declared the seats of the 25 members who defected vacant.

And apparently, to prevent the defected lawmakers from sitting at plenary, Governor Fubara ordered immediate demolition of the Assembly complex giving as reason the need to renovate the burnt sections on the ground that the integrity of the building had been compromised. The governor on Wednesday, presented the state 2024 budget before the four-member faction of the Assembly which sat at the Government House which was approved and subsequently signed into law. On their part, the defected 25 lawmakers led by Amaewhule held a parallel sitting at the auditorium of the Assembly quarters and passed some bills. Amid the crisis, four commissioners, including the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice had resigned from office.

Lawyers in the country have however expressed concern over the worsening political crisis in Rivers State with many of them warning that if not properly handled, it could have far reaching consequences on the nation’s democracy. While urging President Bola Tinubu to intervene in the political impasse and douse the tension in the already charged state in the interest of the country’s fragile economy, they also called for an end to godfatherism in the political system so that the people would be able to freely elect their governors and representatives. The cost of the impasse in Rivers would run into billions of Naira. The poor people of the state would likely bear the brunt, not the politicians.

A real danger to our democracy- Miakpo Emiaso, Retired President, Area Customary Court, Delta State

“What is happening in Rivers State is not new, it happened in Edo State. The demolition of the State House of Assembly is a demonstration of the impunity with which the Nigerian politician runs government affairs. “They over-personalize their offices and once they get to office, they are not bound by any law or regulations. That is a level of rascality that our politics has now degenerated into. It is a real danger to the rule of law and a real danger to the Nigerian citizenry.” On the defection of 27 members of the State House of Assembly to APC, the law says that they should lose their seats because what has happened in Rivers State is not a reflection of the state of the political party. You can only cross the carpet if there is a crisis in your political party.

“The timing of their crossing in Rivers State does not reflect any visible crisis within the PDP that will necessitate that kind of crossing and as such, the 27 members of the House of Assembly that crossed have sacrificed their seats because they have not crossed at a time that they can cross. “Again, this is Nigeria; people have crossed in this kind of circumstances and nothing happened.

They did not lose their seats. That is why some of us keep on insisting that there is no alternative to running a government guided by the rule of law. Whatever it is that we want to do with the government, there is a legal room for when it can be done and how it can be done. But we have a country where we ignore the rule of law and do things the way we feel and that is a real danger to our democracy.”