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Gov. Fubara faces devil’s choice
OBINNA EZUGWU
Many supporters of Similanayi Fubara, governor of Rivers State, were taken aback by the agreement reached at a meeting with President Bola Tinubu, to resolve the impasse between him and Nyesom Wike, his predecessor turned political adversary, and minister of FCT, on Monday last week.
But it has emerged that the governor was compelled to sign the deal, and despite openly making commitments to it, Business Hallmark has gathered that he is currently facing a a devil’s alternative: Whichever choice he makes, his future is in jeopardy.
The eight point agreement, which included the recognition of the leadership of the state House of Assembly as led by factional speaker, Rt. Hon. Martin Amaewhule, alongside the 27 members loyal to Wike, whose resignation from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to join the All Progressives Congress (APC) jolted many in the PDP, who called it an APC takeover of the oil rich state through the back door.
The peace agreement included, “All matters instituted in the courts by Governor Fubara, and his team, in respect of the political crisis in Rivers State, shall be withdrawn immediately.
“All impeachment proceedings initiated against the governor of Rivers State by the Rivers State House of Assembly should be dropped immediately.
“The leadership of the Rivers State House of Assembly, as led by Amaewhule, shall be recognised alongside the 25 members, who resigned from the PDP.
“The remunerations and benefits of all members of the Rivers State House of Assembly and their staff must be reinstated immediately and the governor of Rivers State shall, henceforth, not interfer with the full funding of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
“The Rivers State House of Assembly shall choose, where they want to sit and conduct their legislative business without interference and/or hindrance from the executive arm of government.
“Governor Fubara shall re-present the state budget to a properly constituted Rivers State House of Assembly.
“The names of all commissioners in the Rivers State Executive Council, who resigned their appointments because of the political crisis in the state, should be resubmitted to the House of Assembly for approval.
“There should not be a caretaker committee for the local governments in Rivers State. The dissolution of the local government administration is null and void and shall not be recognised.”
The recognition of the 25 defectors would mean an APC overwhelming majority in the 31-member state assembly, and could pave the way for seamless impeachment of the governor going forward. Many wondered why Fubara, who already had massive support in the state will suddenly throw in the towel and sign an agreement that basically meant political suicide on his part. Many, especially lawyers also took turns to knock the president for supervising a agreement that went contrary to the constitution of the country.
But as more details of what transpired emerged, it became apparent that Fubara was forced, through subtle threat, by President Tinubu to agree to the terms.
Although the governor himself came out through the state commissioner for information and communications, Joseph Johnson, amid revelations by sources in his camp that he was not party to the agreement, to confirm the authenticity of his signature on the resolution document released on Monday evening, one of the elders, who participated in the proceedings would eventually give details of how the governor’s hands were forced.
Johnson, who spoke on Channels TV, on Wednesday December 20, had said the governor will implement the agreement reached because he is committed to the process of peace.
“There is nothing to doubt it. We have gone beyond the issue as to who signed, and who didn’t sign. The Bible that we all profess says we should pursue peace with all men at all cost. Mr. Governor is a stickler for the rules,” he said.
“And if His Excellency, the President has intervened, he (Fubara) is not a man of perfidy. He will not say something and do the other. In the next couple of hours, I will be unveiling some of the approvals His Excellency has already given as an indication that he is prepared for peace.”
The commissioner’s remarks, which came on the heels of the disclosure by members of the assembly loyal to Wike, that they had withdrawn the impeachment notice against Gov. Fubara because of the intervention of President Bola Tinubu, while maintaining that they will continue to perform their constitutional functions of lawmaking and oversight for the development of the state, did not go down well with many within the governor’s camp.
A source, who spoke to Business Hallmark on the condition of anonymity, said many of them felt disappointed that while they were willing to fight for liberation, Fubara appeared to be more interested in submitting to Wike, who it was said, controlled the state’s finances and made policy decisions from Abuja, while the governor remained a figure head disrespected by members of his cabinet, who were appointed by the FCT minister.
But it was David Briggs, a member of the Rivers State Elders and Leaders Forum, who was present during President Tinubu’s intervention in the crisis, that confirmed the terms were, indeed, forced on the governor.
Appealing to patriots in the state and across the country to take steps to ensure that the president’s action did not belittle the constitution while speaking on Arise TV, Briggs disclosed that contrary to the impression that an understanding was reached at the end of the meeting, the president walked in with the controversial peace terms already drafted.
While noting that the president not only flashed the document in an obvious attempt to intimidate the governor and the entire sitting, he claimed Tinubu actually declared it a presidential declaration that no one could afford to undermine.
In the interview on Thursday, Briggs said discussions preceding the signing of the peace agreement were laced with subtle threats and chest-beating.
He said with the president walking into the meeting with a document he declared as presidential proclamation, he did not leave any room for opinion of Rivers State elders at the meeting.
“I’m a participant in that purported meeting. I was there. We were invited to a meeting but that was not a meeting because a meeting means opinion will be sought. There will be discussion by both parties and opinions will be sought and resolutions will be reached.
“But the President walked in with a resolution, addressed us and said what he had in his hand was a presidential proclamation, a presidential directive and at the point, he emphasised that he was the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” he said.
“Therefore, we can weep and anybody, who tends to say no to what he’s saying, has consequences. That is not democratic. That, in a simple layman’s word, is a threat.”
Speaking further, Briggs, who challenged anyone to counter his account of what transpired at the meeting, said Tinubu wrote the resolution but refused to read the resolution, but handed it to Dr. Peter Odili, a former governor, to read, but interjected, and each time he interjects, it comes with a polite threat, and a smiling insult.
“Thereafter, he asked the governor to speak. Let’s get it clear, If you were the governor, what would you do? Get up and say, ‘Mr President, no?’ With that kind of subtle but energetic threat, realising that back home, we are fighting an internal aggression? If you are in his position, will you still attract another external fight? The answer is no,” he said.
“I do know that the president is to protect the constitution of the federal republic and therefore, Nigerians are watching him. Rivers people are watching him whether he is upholding it by his pronouncement. I am not in a position to say that, but I believe there will be peace in Rivers State and that’s what the governor is saying. But Rivers people know what is best for them.
“The moment you allow the third party to come into their matter and you are unable to establish the intention and interest of the third party, who has come to arbitrate, you are failing. And as one of the founding members of PDP in Rivers, we will not allow this thing to come to pass,” he said.
Briggs argued that the PDP remained the party in majority in the Rivers Assembly, as according to him, the members, who defected to the APC have by implication, forfeited their seats.
“Of course, I am not a lawyer but I have consulted lawyers. In the eyes of the law, and I am educated enough to read the letters of the law. In most cases, it says the symbol of the law is blind and double-edged, so it can be misinterpreted.
“Rivers State is PDP and PDP is majority in the Rivers State House of Assembly. We are not minority because we only have four or five members including the speaker and they are majority in the eyes of the law,” he said.
“The president said the governor should represent a bill already passed into law. The law is never made proactively. That’s why I said the president swore to uphold the constitution not to destroy the constitution.
“When one president belittles the constitution, then persons outside the country will belittle the constitution. I know he will not belittle the constitution,” he said.
On the implementation of the agreement, he said, “I tell you it is very simple. Why were we there? Why was Tinubu there? It is because it is a democratic set up. I haven’t been to his house but I was told he has a very beautiful house even better than the president’s house. But the villa is the foundation of democracy and I do know that the president is to protect the constitution of the federal republic and therefore, Nigerians are watching him.
Fight continues
Meanwhile, despite Fubara’s open commitment to the terms of the deal, he has yet to honour the terms. He has not openly recognised the factional leadership of the state assembly loyal to Wike, neither has he re-presented the state’s N800bn 2024 budget. And members of his camp have insisted that while the governor is committed to peace, he will only implement resolutions that are not at variance with the constitution.
“Any part of the resolution that is at variance with the constitution will not be implemented,” declared Dr. Chisom Gbali, the state commissioner for youths. “People have been saying that the governor should not have signed the deal, but could he have walked out on the president?”
Gbali noted further that although Gov Fubara made his commitment, “what is clear is that the contents of the resolution will be subjected to the provisions of the constitution, such as the case of the 25 Lawmakers, who defected to the APC. The law is very clear on that, and there is also a Supreme Court precedent, and Supreme Court precedent is law.”
The leadership of the house headed by Fubara’s loyalist, Edison Ehie, had declared the seats of the defected members vacant, in line with the provisions of the 1999 constitution, and a high Court in the state had recognised his faction as the authentic faction, even if there are only five members in it.
It would appear that the governor is willing to stick to this position, amid overwhelming support and encouragement by Rivers stakeholders and legal practitioners, who insist that Tinubu’s intervention is an aberration.
In another apparent show of strength, on Friday, thousands of Rivers people gathered in Port Harcourt, the state capital to hold solidarity rally for the governor.
“What the deal means is that we’re creating a precedence, where the constitution can simply be suspended in a constitutional democracy even if it serves certain political interests to do so, and applied when it is meant to serve certain objectives,” said Henry Ekine, a Rivers lawyer, who like many people, opposed the terms of the deal.
For Dr. Sam Amadi, public affairs analyst and Director, Abuja School of Social and Political Thoughts, the resolution has heralded, “a new dawn in Nigerian politics. Brokered agreement replaces law. A governor will represent an Appropriation Act to be passed again and signed again. Political wizardry is not a good thing. When your president is both a wizard and a sorcerer, constitutional democracy is gone.”
If the agreement is implemented, many contend, Gov Fubara would lose every gains he has made, in a exchange for the obvious Greek gift of impeachment proceedings against him being suspended. If he repudiates the agreement, he risks a state of emergency by the president, which will remove from office.
“This appears more like a military decree,” noted Inibehe Effiong, @InibeheEffiong, lawyer and rights activist. “A governor is forced to continue to work with hostile Commissioners, who have shown public aversion towards him. I didn’t see, where the lawmakers, who decamped were directed to return to the PDP. If they remain in the APC, they must lose their seats.”
Some have also pointed out that while the agreement may bring momentary peace in the state, it may be tantamount to Fubara, who already had edge in his battle with Wike, throwing in the towel.
“I have now read the Rivers agreement. The accord will remove the knife from the neck of Sim and set it behind his back,” noted the usually sarcastic Senator Shehu Sani, @ShehuSani, former Kaduna central senator. “The accord will bury the hatchets with leaves. The accord outwardly sells peace, but internally buys time for another round of war. However, it can be better if the dialogue is periodically assessed and improved upon.”
Commentators are in agreement that the supposed truce is unconstitutional, and have encouraged the governor not to honour same.
“The part that surprised me the most is that the President of Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu will suspend the constitution under a constitutional democracy,” noted Daniel Bwala, a lawyer and member of the PDP, in an interview.
“What they call directive or the resolution from the meeting is to the effect that the house of assembly members, who defected should go back and continue with their legislative duties. In other words, do not proceed with the plan to conduct election and bring in new people. That means they are going back into the chambers to operate as members of the APC.
“There is a court order that said the remainder of the house of assembly members constituted a quorum. That means that the presentation of the budget was carried out under the due process of law.
“There was an order of the court that authenticated what they did. Now, for the president of the federal republic of Nigeria being aware that the steps they took were supported by law, to still preside over a meeting that would ask him to go back and undo the order of the court; to go back and undo constitutional procedures, it means that the president who swore to preserve the constitution spurned the constitution in order to carry out political activities for the benefit of either his party, himself or his 2027 ambition. Right now, the good people of Rivers are thrown under the bus.
“As the chief executive of a state, Governor Fubara has all the powers that Tinubu has at the federal level. He is the leader of the party in the state; he is the chief executive. There are elder in Rivers, I doubt if they are aware of this resolution. I doubt it was not obtained under duress.”
PDP kicks
The leadership of the PDP, on Tuesday, declared that there is no remedy for “the 25 former members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, who by virtue of Section 109 (1)(g) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) vacated and lost their seats by reason of defection from the PDP, the party platform upon which they were elected into the House of Assembly.”
Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Tuesday in response to the Tinubu brokered agreement, Amb. Umar Iliya Damagum, the Acting National Chairman of the party, maintained that the assembly members, who have left the party can no longer be lawmakers.
“Our Party insists that having now vacated and lost their seats, the only option available for the former lawmakers, if they wish to return to the House of Assembly, is to seek fresh nomination and re-election on the platform of any political party of their choice in line with the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and the Electoral Act, 2022,” he said.
“The 25 former Rivers lawmakers freely and without any cause vacated their seats, being fully aware of the consequences of defection from the Party upon which they were elected into the Rivers State House of Assembly without the conditions stipulated by the 1999 Constitution.”
Similarly, Emmanuel Enoidem, SAN, former PDP national legal advisor, in a post on X, argued that President Tinubu has no constitutional powers to intervene in Rivers as he did.
“The president does not have the powers to issue this kind of directive, when the matter is pending in court and orders were made, enrolled and issued,” he said.
“The estranged members of the Assembly cannot return because their seats have been constitutionally vacated by the House of Assembly.
“Which political party are those members: APC or PDP? As APC members they have lost their membership except they renounce their defection.
“The governor of Rivers State @SimFubaraKSC, must know that this is a Booby Trap. It is a time bomb. If it is not detonated today, definitely it surely will tomorrow.
“The Governor of Rivers State must know that he has won this war already. He should not chicken out. This intervention by the president is certainly not in his best interest. The president is only buying time for members of his party to consolidate on their strategy and launch back having realised that the governor has won the war over his team in Rivers State.”
On his part, Kola Ologbondiyan, @officialKolaO, the immediate past national publicity secretary of the party, argued that the supposed agreement is an abuse of the constitution, while asking Fubara not to obey same.
“The Asiwaju Declarations on Rivers State are unconstitutional and a wholesome abuse of the 1999 Constitution (as amended),” he said.
“The law is that @inecnigeria holds election in the vacant seats of the Rivers House of Assembly in line with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
“Bola Tinubu, as a major beneficiary of our constitutional democracy, must not be allowed to turn our nation into a banana republic, where anything goes.”
