May 19, (THEWILL)- After a coterie of Senior Advocates of Nigeria, SAN, last week averred that the defected 27-lawmakers in Rivers State have automatically lost their seats by virtue of extant Court of Appeal and Supreme Court pronouncements on a similar matter, the legislative and executive powers in the oil-rich state swung in favour of Governor Siminalayi Fubara and gave him the upper hand in the supremacy battle with his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
The resignation of five commissioners serving in the cabinet of Governor Fubara rather than deepen the ongoing political crisis in the State in fact further strengthened the governors’ hands.
The commissioners, who are known loyalists of Wike, are Jacobson Nbina Transport, Inime Aguma, Social Welfare, Prof. Chinedu Mmom, Education, Dr Gift Worlu, Housing, Austen Ben-Chioma, Environment.
Coming a few hours after Wike tendered an apology to the people of the state at a public function for choosing the governor as his successor, the resignation was timed for maximum political effect.
Addressing a grand civic reception in Ogu-Bolo, Rivers State, in honour of Chief George Thompson Sekibo’s 20 years of public service, Wike, who said he made a mistake and should be forgiven, also stated that the mistake would be corrected at the appropriate time.
That timing started with the resignations by the Commissioners, who cited in different ways, the unhealthy work environment and “loss of trust and animosity,” that could affect productivity and efficient service delivery. But in reality, they were handed a fait accompli.
These same commissioners were among the nine who had previously resigned in the heat of the political crisis in the state and were reappointed after President Bola Tinubu intervened in the face-off between Fubara and Wike, which also divided the House of Assembly into two camps loyal to each of them.
Coming barely 24 hours after Fubara slammed Wike and accused him of leaving a huge debt burden for him and a few days after Zacchaeus Adangor, Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General and Isaac Kamalu, Commissioner for Finance, had resigned their appointments, the exit of the five commissioners in one fell swoop was expected. Conscious that the mood of the people and things have swung in his favour, the governor instigated the resignation.
First, he redeployed Adangor, to the Ministry of Special Duties, while Kamalu was redeployed to the Ministry of Employment Generation and Economic Empowerment. Others simply saw the handwriting on the wall and threw in the towel.
Filling the vacancies will pose no problem for the governor, according to sources, but doing so with the aim of achieving balance among various interests in the state could prove tough for him. For now, the mood has swung in his favour and he is moving fast to consolidate his hold on power.
After appointing a new Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in the person of Dagogo Iboroma, a Senior Advocate Nigeria (SAN), Fubara said that a judicial panel of inquiry would be set up to investigate the management of the state’s resources and affairs under past administrations. The target is obviously Wike’s eight year administration, a slippery ground, indeed.
A former Deputy Speaker of the State House of Assembly under former Governor Chibuike Amaechi’s regime, Hon. Leyii Kwane, thinks that with the new development, the coast is now clear for Fubara to make the necessary changes and settle down to the business of governance which has suffered in the course of the ongoing crisis.
Commending Governor Fubara for the appointment of Iboroma as Commissioner for Justice, Kwane said it is imperative that swift action is taken to address the current situation by filling critical positions which will enable the wheel of governance to move forward, providing much-needed services and support to the people of Rivers.
He called on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to conduct elections immediately to fill the vacant positions in the state legislature occasioned by the defection of 27 members, as provided by law. This, he said, will ensure that the state’s governance is truly representative of the people’s will.
On Thursday, Governor Fubara hosted the Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, who were celebrating the yearly heroic exploits of Adaka Boro, 56 years after his death and charged them to follow the path of peace, “as the enemies of Rivers State have been defeated.” But he did not fail to score political points from the visit as he noted that Major Isaac Adaka Boro genuinely stood for equity, justice and fair play, and pursued his course to ensure liberation for the Ijaw people and their clans.
He added that since Boro stood for justice and fair play, “we still celebrate him because he was a liberator. Every Rivers man, it doesn’t matter whether you are Ijaw or upland, the most important thing is that every genuine Rivers man must be a liberator.”
And then he veered off into the festering crisis in the state, stating that, “ I have also received you because we have one common purpose, to liberate our dear state. We are not going back on that.
“I am happy that you’ve told me this morning that when I call, you will respond. But there is nothing to call on you for because we have already defeated them.
Governor Fubara appealed to Ijaw youths, led by their president, Jonathan Lokpobiri, to conduct themselves peacefully as they celebrate Major Isaac Adaka Boro Day and be good ambassadors of the entire Ijaw nation.
For Wike, it is too early to say whether he has lost out in the festering crisis, but his stars seem to be deeming in both the state and national levels of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. Party sources are thanking their stars that diplomacy has won, otherwise the crisis would have boiled over to involve the national leadership and thus create grounds for the defecting lawmakers to stand and further polarise the party. With a weakened hold at the state level, the minister’s leverage at the national level may suffer measurably and give his rivals ample room to checkmate him.
Amos Esele is the Acting Editor of THEWILL Newspaper. He has over two decades of experience on the job.
