- It’s Selective, Tool For Political Vendetta -Wike Allies
- Appear And Clear Your Names — Fubara’s Aide Replies
By Kolawole Ojebisi
As expected, a fiiery exchange of words has started by loyalists of the Rivers State Governor, Siminakayi Fubara and those of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike over the judicial commission of inquiry set up by the Rivers State government to look into the arson which took place at three local government areas of the state.
Members of the two parties have started justifying and denouncing the summon by the judicial panel depending on where their allegiance lies.
Among Wike’s allies summoned by the panel are the immediate past chairman of Ikwerre Local Government Area, Dr Samuel Nwanosike, as well as his counterparts in Eleme and Ahead East, Obarilomate Ollor and Hope Ikiriko, respectively.
Reacting to the development, Olaka Nwogu said the summon was not just selective but also showed a desire for vindictiveness.
Nwogu noted that a holistic summon or invitation would have been applauded by both parties involved as a move to unmask perpetrators of arson and allied destruction in the state with the intention of bringing them to book.
He stated:”All I know is the fact that there were some incidents in Rivers State and the governor said he was setting up a panel.
“Something like that needs to be holistic. That should also cover the state assembly that was bombed, the local government secretariats and every other form of violence or condemnable atrocities.
“But, more importantly, I think the minister of the FCT gave a very, very insightful comment in his interview on Channels, when he said the governor says he knows the people. I think that sums it up.
“The governor said it was the handiwork of his enemies. And then the minister said, ‘What you do when you know those who do something like that is to ask the police to arrest or prosecute them’.
“So, if this is a way of leaving those you know to bring those you don’t know, well, I don’t know. But, it does appear that this is that the governor already knows the people who committed the act.
*So, what is the essence of a panel if it is a waste of public resources? You know the people who did it, arrest, prosecute them, charge them for arson, charge them for whatever vandalism or any crimes they have committed. That way we can make progress.”
He further said, “But I think it undermines the process when a judge is also the accuser in his own court, because the person who will approve the white paper is the governor, the person who is accusing is the governor, and the person who appointed the panel is the governor.
“The whole process of the delivery of justice is seriously tainted because everybody is aware of the polarisation in the state, and it’s easier to use this as a vendetta, a tool for vendetta, or to call, to claim certain people to be guilty of certain things and take advantage of it.
“It is selective too. Those are just my personal concerns. Otherwise, we should safeguard our public property. And we should protect it.”
Nwogu, who represented the Rivers South-East District in the National Assembly said such a panel ought to also look into the explosion at the state House of Assembly last year.
While noting that there should be a good reason to ensure people do not take laws into their own hands and vandalise public property, Nworgu said, “It should be a neutral body that is not politically exposed to undo such a thing, especially when there is a political dispute. I think it’s left for the people to decide how they feel.”
Reacting to his invitation, Ollor described the panel as an act of political vendetta.
Ollor, a former Vice Chairman of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria, Rivers State chapter, said he would make appropriate consultations in that regard.
He stated, “The most important thing is that, of course, I just see that as a political vendetta. I don’t know what they are talking about. We’ll do our proper consultations to know what to do next.”
Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Information and Communication, Joseph Johnson, faulted the position of Wike allies, saying the right thing to do is to first appear before the panel if invited, rather than throwing punches.
Johnson said, “I would expect that he (Ollor) should be man enough to go the judicial panel of inquiry and ventilate.
“If he and others go there and say what they know or they don’t, they would have freed themselves.
“But you cannot sit back and begin to throw punches at a commission that is statutorily put together and headed by a respected judge of the High Court.
“That panel is expected to look at what happened in the various LGAs where they also reside.
‘Onarilomate Ollor was a local government chairman of Eleme, at least he should be able to give an account of what happened. He is an Eleme son and that property belongs to the Eleme people.
“He should appear and tell them what he knows and then end it there. The panel will take it from there.
“To the other council chairmen, I mean, my mother of blessed memory tells me that nobody pursues anyone that is not holding the ball.
“If you go and watch football, they pursue those holding football. So once the ant is trying to form, know that there is a wood.
“They should go and answer. If they don’t want to answer, there is a precursor to it.”
Recall that in the days leading up to the Council polls, the atmosphere in Rivers State grew increasingly charged after the police announced they would not provide security for the polls, citing a court order.
The Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) was also barred from releasing the voter register to the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission( RSIEC) by a similar court injunction.
However, Governor Fubara remained defiant, vowing that the election would proceed as planned. The police, explained, that their presence at the RSIEC office was to safeguard the facility.
Despite the tensions, some of the state’s major political parties, including Fubara’s Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) and the All Progressives Congress(APC) did not participate in the election.
The day of the poll also came with its own drama when buildings and other property were shattered in an early explosion that shattered the secretariat of the APC along Aba Road in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital.
The local government secretariats at Ikwerre, Emuoha and Eleme were also torched after the local government election.
Following the incidents, the state governor set up a judicial commission to look into the crisis that rocked the state particularly the post-election arson.
The commission which is headed by Justice I. R. Minakiri, on Monday, summoned about 109 persons, including some allies of the FCT Minister, to appear before it as witnesses to the burning of the LG secretariats starting from October 30, 2024.
