Published: June 29, 2015
Rivers State chapter of All Progressives Congress, APC, weekend condemned the action of Governor Nyesom Wike in restoring the rights and privileges of Sir Celestine Omehia as a former governor of the state. The party also said it was embarrassed that an individual who was licensed to practice law within the Nigerian territory would in the most flagrant manner, disregard the ruling of the Supreme Court of the land for selfish political expediency.
Governor Nyesom Wike had, last week, said the decision to restore the entitlements and privileges of Omehia as a former governor stemmed from the fact that he worked as governor of the state between May 29, 2007 and October 25, 2007, wherein he took decisions on behalf of the state and initiated projects.
Condemning the action of the governor, the party, through state Publicity Secretary of the APC in Rivers State, Mr Chris Finebone, said the APC was persuaded to believe that the governor was only trying hard to create a precedent, considering the quicksand on which his governorship was standing.
It said: ‘’As a party, the APC recalls that the Supreme Court of Nigeria, in 2007, ruled that Sir Celestine Omehia was never a governor in the eyes of the law and consequently nullified his governorship as having not happened.
‘’That landmark judgement also ordered that Mr. Rotimi Amaechi be sworn in immediately as the rightful governor of Rivers State. The Supreme Court explicitly declared that Omehia held the office in error and illegally. ‘’Apart from Amaechi, the next immediate beneficiary of that development was Mr. Nyesom Wike who was shortly appointed Chief of Staff by Amaechi.
‘’Can Governor Wike, in all honesty recall drawing the attention of his former boss to the need to override certain aspects of the Supreme Court ruling and defiantly restore Omehia’s rights, howbeit, as he has just done? ‘’Can Wike, today, own up to several of the anti-Omehia actions he took as Amaechi’s Chief of Staff until he was called to order?
‘’More embarrassing is that the recipient himself is a lawyer and he had previously sought to get the Supreme Court to reverse itself in related matters without success.
‘’So we would like Rivers people and Nigerians to know that the action and utterances of Gov. Wike are nothing more than standing in front of the mirror for the world to see and confirm the real Nyesom Wike who is ready to abandon civility, reason and decency on the altar of political expediency. ‘’We reject the attempt by Governor Wike to undermine the integrity and sanctity of the Supreme Court of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.’’
Vanguard