A former member House of Representatives, Ogbonna Nwuke has linked the political crisis between the RIivers State Governor, Sininalayi Fubara and the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike to resource control.
He reacted as a guest on Channels Televison’s Morning Brief on Wednesday.
Nwuke described President Bola Tinubu’s decision to suspend Fubara and declare a state of emergency as “shocking”.
He said “What happened in Rivers State has been a war of resources between the governor and the former governor of Rivers State who is currently the FCT minister.
“Trouble began by lawmakers who are loyal to the minister, attempted to impeach the governor. That impeachment attempt has failed but Rivers has never known peace. And I must that Rivers people are shocked by the declaration of a state of emergency in the state. And the pronouncement of the president suggested a one-sided view of all that has transpired in Rivers State.
“There have been calls across board that the president should reign on his minister, but he has refused to listen to public opinion on Rivers State and even about the country. But here in Rivers State, we are sure that this action was premeditated. It is either that they knew that they were going to either impeach governor Fubara or declare a state of emergency.
“The declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State is shocking,” he said.
He argued that although the president had anchored his decision on section 305 of the constitution, due processes were ignored.
“Everybody knows there are processes through which a declaration of emergency can be achieved. But in this case, I can see that most Rivers people are still trying to wrap their heads around the reason for the president’s action,” he said.
President Tinubu had on Tuesday, declared a state of emergency in Rivers State following the protracted political crisis in the state.
He proclaimed during a nationwide broadcast, suspending Fubara; his deputy Ngozi Odu; and all the members of the House of Assembly for six months.
The president then nominated Vice Admiral Ibokette Ibas (rtd) as administrator to take charge of the affairs of the state for the first six months.
The president relied on Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution to make the proclamation. The section interprets a state of emergency as a situation of national danger, disaster or terrorist attacks in which a government suspends normal constitutional procedures to regain control.
More reactions have continued to trail Tinubu’s proclamation.
Tony Cole, a 2023 Rivers APC governorship candidate who was a guest on Channels Televsion’s Politics Today on Wednesday, said the crisis in the state, if not well handled, could lead to the end of the old crop of politicians in the state, and the emergence of a new crop of state actors.
He said “This is a big indictment on every big political actor in Rivers State. I have been saying over and over again, that people have to become mature, sit at the table and set aside personal political interests and begin to consider the people of the state.
“But nobody cared. They don’t care about the people. They just sit there and they are after self-imposed and power-grabbing. This is what has come out of their selfish dispositions.
“What has to happen is that there has to be two sides of this. The sole administrator is going to have to sit down and go governance. And behind the state, there is going to have to be a very cold calculation on the politics.
“If he cannot resolve the politics in the next six months, then you are going to see this whole group of politicians wiped out, and a whole new crop of politicians come in.”
While giving his opinion on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Tuesday, Legal Practitioner, Liborous Oshoma opined that there was no longer a need for a declaration of a state of emergency since Fubara had accepted to play by the Supreme Court’s judgment.
He said “The president is not the court. All of those encumbrances that the president raised, as valid as they are; have been taken care of by the Supreme Court judgment.
“The Supreme Court judgment had nullified all of those actions taken by the governor of rivers state. And so, if Fubara had said he didn’t recognise the Supreme Court judgment, that is when you can now say he was defiant.
“The governor had accepted the judgment, and the state house of assembly had subsequently sat to issue notices to parties and to the governor. When there is a declaration of a state of emergency in a state, that means there is a crisis in that state. Because we operate a federation, what should follow is that the state laws should govern that state, and not suspend elected state officials.
“It is okay to declare a state of emergency for the federal government to collaborate with the state officials. If the constitution wanted the state governor and officials to be suspended, it would have stated it”
“He added that the constitution did not state that an administration should be appointed for such a state.
Arguing that the crisis in the state is political, Jiti Ogunye, a Legal Practitioner, said that President Tinubu was right to have declared a state of emergency.
He, however, added that he would have wished that Tinubu had worked to broker peace between the parties.
He said “The issue of political emergency are matters of security, and parliamentarians tend to differ from the executives when it comes to the issue of security.
“It is for the president to decide whether or not the state has reached the stage ripe for declaration of a state of emergency. And if I may be clear, the political crisis has been unreasonable on both sides of Wike and Fubara. So, it was necessary to impose a state of emergency in the state.
“I would have wished for the president to go back to that political intervention, call both sides and ask them what they intended to achieve with the strife. If both parties can’t work together, they should wait for 2027 for Fubara to be voted out.
“The scuffle between both parties is not essentially about the people. It is about what they want to gain. By the force of the president’s proclamation, the governor and the state’s officials are now on suspension.”
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