Olayiwola Matthew
Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), has said that Siminalayi Fubara, Governor of Rivers State, should face impeachment if he violates the constitution.
Speaking at the media chat in Abuja on Wednesday, Wike said politics should not be taken lightly and that removing the governor would not be a criminal offence.
“Politics is not play. If you have committed an offence to be impeached, what’s wrong? Is it a criminal offence? It’s provided in the constitution. Am I a member of the assembly?” Wike asked.
“If you have committed an infraction of the constitution, and the assembly deems it fit to say you should be impeached.
“I have heard people say, ‘Oh, if they impeach him, there will be a breakdown of law and order.’ Rubbish! Nothing will happen.”
While defending his commitment to legal procedures and fairness, Wike questioned how a handful of legislators could pass laws and expect them to be recognised as valid.
“I cannot believe that in this country, we are now at the point where Nigerians are talking about where three members of the house will sit and make a law, and they are talking about going to the supreme court,” he said.
“Speakers and assembly members are not our children; they were elected; they are not your boys or your girls.
“You sit with them and play with them. I travelled with my speakers, and I created relationships. It’s not a master-servant thing.”
On Monday, Tony Okocha, chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers state, asked Fubara to resign or face impeachment proceedings.
Okocha said that the recent supreme court ruling on the state’s political crisis is final, describing Fubara’s invitation to the Martin Amaewhule-led assembly faction for a meeting as a “Greek gift”.
BACKGROUND
Rivers has been enmeshed in political crisis following the conflict between Fubara and Wike.
On February 28, the supreme court affirmed the judgment of a federal high court that barred the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the accountant-general of the federation from releasing statutory monthly allocations to Rivers state.
The supreme court also nullified the local government election held in Rivers state on October 5, 2024.
Fubara had promised to comply with the judgment of the apex court.
On Sunday, the Rivers governor invited the Amaewhule-led house of assembly members to a meeting scheduled for Monday.
Fubara’s invitation was viewed as a step towards resolving the Rivers assembly crisis that began in 2023.
The FCT minister, however, criticised Fubara for writing to the state house of assembly, stating that he should have called Amaewhule and his team to arrange a meeting. He also described the letter from Fubara as “useless”.