The minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has blamed the Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, for the recent violence in the state, pointing to his decision not to obey a court order
that declared the local government elections illegal.
Wike, who made this statement yesterday during a political programme on Channels Television, described the governor’s action as an abuse of the rule of law, which has aggravated the crisis in the state.
He criticised the governor’s decision to set up a judicial panel of enquiry to probe the killings and violence in the state on Monday, describing it as a waste of time.
According to him, as Fubara declared on national television that the arsonists who burned down local government secretariats were his political opponents, he should just go ahead and instruct the police to arrest them rather than wasting time setting up an official probe since he already knew the perpetrators of the mayhem.
When answering a question on the violence that occurred in Rivers State on Monday following the local council election on Saturday and the swearing in of the newly elected local government chairman by
Governor Fubara on Sunday, Wike said: “There is no decent person, no person who believes in the peace and stability of any nation, who will say he wants to support violence, who will say that he wants to support destruction, and who will say that he does not want people to live in harmony.
“But what is important is that when there is violence, when there is instability, and when there is destruction, it is for you to ask the question: ‘What has led to that violence? What has led to instability? What has led to destruction, if at all?’ It is very key.
“I have said I was a governor. I have always obeyed the rule of law. You have heard the governor say he will not obey court judgement. Our state is turning into a state of anarchy where people do not obey the rule of law,” he said.
On how peace can return to Rivers State, Wike said it is by following the due process of the law.
“It is obeying the judgement of the court. It is not taking the law into your own hands. It does not matter how you perceive that judgement.
“The moment you do not obey a court’s judgement, you are inviting anarchy, you are inviting violence. Was that destruction done before now? The point we are making is that a governor, on national television—not local television—dared to tell the world, ‘I will not obey a court’s judgement’,” he said.
The former governor of Rivers State further stressed that Fubara, his former political godson and now political opponent, should learn to obey the court’s pronouncements.
“It is about our nation. If today a court gives a judgement, not an order, a judgement, I say, look, this is what we will do. You have gone on appeal. You went on appeal, which means you know there was a judgement against you. And you have gone on appeal. You do not want to be patient to follow due process. Let the appeal come up to say this and that and that. You come onto national television and say,
‘I will not obey, it is a fraudulent judgement. I have never seen that in my life: where anyone can come out and say because the judgement is against you or not in your favour, you attack an institution to say it is fraudulent. And I said, we will comply with the court judgement. What did they do?” he asked.
