Constance Meju
As the state of emergency declared in Rivers State continues to receive condemnation and constitute a clog in the wheel of progress in the administration of the state, concerned citizens in collaboration of non-governmental organizations in the state have sent out a strong call to President Ahmed Bola Tinubu to issue an executive order calling for the immediate recall of the elected governor, Sir Similaiyi Fubara.
At a press briefing 18 June, as human rights groups marched for respect for democratic tenets in Port Harcourt on June 18, Pilex Center, a frontline advocate against the unconstitutional act of the president, in conjunction with Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Center (WRAPA), and other concerned non-governmental organizations, speaking through Comrade Courage Nsirimovu, urged Tinubu to immediately recall Fubara to avoid a repeat of the error of ex-president Ibrahim Babangida who, arbitrarily cancelled the 12 June general elections won by Late Moshood Abiola, only to recently apologize decades later, to Nigerians admitting his error.
Reiterating that the March 13 suspension of Fubara by Tinubu, claiming a crisis in a peaceful state, had in the legal records been ruled as wrong by a Supreme Court ruling in 2004.
The human rights advocates stressed that by that judgment, President Tinubu has no right to remove an elected governor.
They described the Rivers situation as an anomaly, a “gross misconduct”, especially, since states like Benue and Niger, on fire as a result of massive destructions, killings and uncertainty occasioned insurgents have not received the presidential measure.
“Pilex Center for Civic Education together with the Concerned Civil Society Coalition, calls on President Bola Ahmed Bola Tinubu to restore the governor of Rivers State and elected representatives of the people as a responsible democratic action to mark the democracy day and forthwith, work to fully restore democracy in Nigeria which he also fought for.
“The Supreme Court of Nigeria has ruled that the declaration of a state of emergency does not give the president powers to remove elected officials. See Attorney General Federation v. Attorney General Lagos State (2004),” the address read.
The coalition stated that constitution is clear that only an elected governor can appoint local government heads and state electoral commission members, a clear deviation from the appointments being made by the Tinubu- installed sole administrator who has been appointing local government administrators in place of suspended council chairmen and chairman of the state Independent Electoral Commission.
The Rivers State Sole Administrator’s nominee for the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, Michael Odey, from his Cross Rivers State, was recently placed on hold by the National Assembly, following questions of the rightness of an outsider as choice for that sensitive and critical post.
Rivers people are angry that their state is being handed over to outsiders.
Linking the state of affairs in the state and nation to some gaps in the electoral act, which need to be addressed, the CSOs have also called for some amendments to make votes count and wrench power from individuals trying to be bigger than the system.
“When you hear a judge say that, ‘the Federal Government has an interest in this matter, it is an order from above and my hands are tired,’ it tells you that not only is the legislature weak and captured, the judiciary is also weak and captured.
“We must liberate and strengthen these democratic institutions, including EFCC and INEC, to be truly independent to kill impunity, corruption, electoral malpractices, etc.
“We the people can only start the process of strengthening our weak institutions when we actively participate in this process for change,” Nsirimovu stated.
The stated routes to the needed change Nsirimovu listed as-insisting on electoral reforms to ensure that votes count, engaging aspirants with requests to strengthen our institutions, demanding they walk the talk, recalling those who fail to fulfil electoral campaign promises, setting up 50-100 years local, state and national development plans with milestones tagged to available resources backed by consistent citizen demand for accountability from the executive, legislature and judiciary.
To return power to the people as is the norm in real democracies, the Pilex Center executive director called on the National Assembly to “immediately amend Section 60 (5) of the Electoral Act”.
“Pilex Center calls on the National Assembly to immediately amend Section 60 (5) of the Electoral Act to read, ‘Results from polling units shall be transferred to the INEC/IREV Server immediately after declaration of same at the polling unit’.
“The National Assembly should wake up to its democratic responsibility to act for the people and not for the executive alone,” he stated.
Nsirimovu challenged Nigerians to wake up and act to rescue the country from the clutches of politicians, noting, “As long as the democratic system of checks and balances through the various arms and agencies of government no longer works, the executive will continue to rule Nigerians (as slaves) with impunity.”
