…says ‘you can’t be minister, gov at the same time’

A constitutional lawyer and scholar, Professor Itse Sagay, has called on the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Chief Nyesom Wike, to cease further hostilities towards Governor Sim Fubara of River State, saying the crisis between the two is impacting negatively on good governance in the state.

Commenting on the development in a telephone chat with Saturday Telegraph yesterday on the ongoing crisis in the South South state, Sagay carpeted the minister for scheming to become a minister and governor at the same time.

Governor Fubara has been at loggerheads with the minister over some irreconcilable differences with regards to the governance and politics of the state with the two deeply digging into the war trenches.

The development resulted in factions in the House of Assembly along the lines of the feuding combatant just as it saw the intervention of the Supreme Court ruling to restore order in the oil-producing state.

In its intervention, the apex court ruled on five important issues of contention occasioned by the schism, first of which the court ordered Governor Fubara to recognise the Martin Amaewhule-led group of 27 lawmakers as legitimate members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.

This decision was based on the court’s finding that the legislators had not defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), as alleged.

Secondly, the court condemned the governor’s actions that effectively sidelined the legislature, emphasising that governance cannot function without all three arms of government.

It (the Supreme Court) also directed the reinstatement of the legislature’s full authority.

Thirdly, Governor Fubara was instructed to present the 2024 and 2025 state budgets to the full House of Assembly for proper legislative approval just as it also declared the previous budget presentations to a small fraction of lawmakers as unconstitutional.

Fourthly, the court criticised the governor for demolishing the Rivers State House of Assembly complex and described it as a contravention of the separation of powers. It ordered an end to such actions.

Another decision was the declaration that the local council elections conducted on October 5, 2024 was invalid and that a fresh election should be organised.

In complying with the judgments, Governor Fubara has sacked all the local government chairmen and councillors elected in the October elections just as he has also written to the House of Assembly for a meeting to mend fences to move the state forward.

However, the House has dangled the Sword of Damocles over Fubara, demanding his resignation or face impeachment.

Few days ago, the lawmakers locked the gates of the Assembly to prevent Fubara from presenting the contentious budget for scrutiny.

Even though the Supreme Court ruling is a victory for the political faction led by former Governor Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), however, the game of hypocrisy in the name of the power struggle in Rivers State is not healthy for the development of the state.

Commenting on the development, Sagay said, “I think it is high time we told (Chief Nyesom) Wike to allow the governor to breathe. Since the young man came to power, Wike has been breathing down on him and he has refused to let him work.

“This is unfortunate because when Wike himself was in power, nobody breathed down his neck the way he is doing to Fubara.”

Sagay lamented that the crisis is taking a very serious negative toll on the progress and development of the state as the governor has been so distracted from governance owing to the development.

“There is no gainsaying the fact that the governor has not been performing optimally because of the distraction which this crisis has caused him; there is the need for all the gladiators to apply the brakes and allow peace to reign in the interest of the people of the state.

“If you ask me, there is the need to make Wike understand that he cannot be a minister and the River State governor at the same time,” he said.

When asked to comment on whether the reported absence of the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Simeon Amadi, can impede any plan to impeach Fubara, Prof. Sagay said, “I don’t think that can happen.

“Whenever a substantive chief judge of any state is away, I think the law allows for someone in the system to act in his place, so, if that is the case, the acting chief judge can take up the full responsibilities of the substantive chief judge.”