Opunabo Inko-Tariah is former Special Adviser to the Minister of Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike. In this interview, asks President Bola Tinubu to call the Inspector General of Police to order, frowns at some actions taken by Governor Fubara, among others. JOY ANIGBOGU brings the excerpts:
Your former boss, Nyesom Wike said that there is peace in Rivers State thanks to the intervention of President Tinubu, as a stakeholder, is there peace in Rivers?
The FCT Minister was just mouthing, there is no peace in Rivers State. What we have in Rivers State now is peace before the storm. First of all we are talking about the hounding of those that are perceived to be loyal to Governor Simi Fubara, for example the chief of staff. Why did they have to move the case from Rivers State to the Federal Capital Territory? I am talking about the murder of the DPO. You will ask yourself a question, where was the crime committed? You cannot just move the case to Abuja.
Wike said that the judiciary, the legislature and the executive are working independently and very well. Are you saying that the judiciary in Rivers State doesn’t have what it takes, the credibility to handle that matter, because the matter is already in court? It was moved to Abuja so that he can bring to bear his peasants and that is why most of us are calling the President to caution the Inspector General of Police (IGP). It mustn’t be political. We have not heard about those policemen that were with the commissioner when he was killed.
We have not heard about them but you are hounding the chief of staff because of his political fidelity. Talking about the House of assembly, we are going to have very serious constitutional crisis. We must not allow sentiments becloud our reasoning. The reason adduced for the defection, they said it was eight point agenda.
Must political settlements out distance legal requirements and conditions? If that is the case we don’t need Supreme Court judgments anymore. We just need to go to the President and let him give a verdict on any issue. If he says you are guilty, you are guilty, and if he says you are innocent, you are innocent.
We don’t need the courts anymore. We are talking about legal matters where you have pectoral of cases and defections. Too major conditions, it is either party melt of you have crisis. The first time they talked of crisis, where the party secretary who had gubernatorial ambition refused to resign his seat, which was not tantamount to crisis, one person dragged him to court.
The second one was, “the president was doing well” This is not known in law and it is alien to content of judgment of the Supreme Court. As we speak, those persons are not members of the House of Assembly irrespective of the agreement entered into because that cannot supersede the provisions of the law.