By Seyi Odewale
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, yesterday told the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, that the only way to bring peace to the state is for him to allow the rule of law to prevail.
The FCT Minister, a guest on Channels TV’ Politics Today,’ blamed Fubara for disobeying the court’s judgment halting the just-concluded local government election in the state.
An Abuja Federal High Court presided over by Justice Peter Lifu, some six days before the election, barred the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from releasing voters’ registers to the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC).
According to him, the RSIEC was wrong to fix the polling date of October 5, 2024, when all relevant laws guiding the election had not been complied with.
He said the Rivers State electoral body violated local government election conduct law provisions by not publishing the mandatory 90-day notice before fixing the date.
The FCT Minister also held that the update and revision of the voters’ register by INEC ought to have been concluded 90 days before an election date can be legally and validity fixed in law.
He, therefore, ordered INEC not to make the certified voters’ register available to RSIEC until all relevant laws have been fully complied with.
However, Fubara, while reacting to the judgement, insisted that the election would hold regardless of the judgement.
The governor relied his decision on the state High Court, Port Harcourt, Rivers State Division judgement, presided over by Justice I. Igwe, which ordered RSIEC to conduct the local government elections in the state, using the 2023 voters’ register.
The INEC compiled the voters’ register.
Wike, the immediate past governor of the state, said Fubara’s noncompliance with the Federal High Court judgement was an apparent disregard for the rule of law.
He asked, “What is the rule of law? You must obey the judgement of the court. You’re inviting anarchy when you don’t obey the rule of law.”
He added, “I was a governor, always obeying the rule of law.”
Wike, who condemned the arson done on the three local government secretariats in the state on Monday, said, “No decent person who believes in stability would say that he would support destruction.”
However, he asked if the destruction was done before the election, adding that the governor’s utterances escalated the problem.
“How can a governor come out on national television to say he would not obey a court judgement? That I don’t need police to conduct elections. When somebody said I don’t need police, what does that mean?” he asked.
Wike argued that one of the police functions was to foster security, asking: “In that case, who is behind the arson?” He went further to answer the question saying, “The governor is the architect of the problem.”
Asked if he had condemned the arson done in those three local government councils, Wike said the act was condemnable, adding that the governor should go after those behind it since he said he knew them.
“He doesn’t need to set up any panel again since he said he knew those behind it. He should go after them,” Wike said.
The former Rivers State governor, however, insisted that Fubara’s not complying with the court judgement escalated the crisis.
“You heard the President say that the judiciary can settle the matter. But you accused the judiciary of giving a fraudulent judgement, and you said you would not obey it,” Wike said.
What the governor should have done, according to Wike, was to have approached the appellate court to seek redress not a flagrant disobedience to court judgement.
“You would have gone on appeal. Let the Court of Appeal decide. But you come up on national television to say I will not comply with the judgement because, according to you, it was fraudulent.
Wike said the governor must obey the court’s judgement as a panacea for the political crisis in the state.
“There will be peace when he obeys the court’s judgment. The rule of law is the only thing that can bring peace to Rivers State,” he said.
