“If they explain Nigeria to you and you understand, they did not explain it well”
Unknown Sensei
In barely a month, Nigerians have seen an elected senator getting suspended for six months by other senators after making a sexual harassment allegation, and now, an elected governor and an entire set of state legislators getting suspended by an elected president. Is any of these suspensions legal or justifiable? The answer would depend on whether one subscribes to the constitution as an authoritative guide or the necessity of an authoritarian to maintain an asylum.
Exactly two years after a blatant rigging of state-wide elections and a cockish thanksgiving service where daylight robbery was ascribed to the favour of a merciful God, I wrote an article hoping that despite the immoral route that enthroned Sim Fubara, he would work to deliver sustainable development beyond roads and bridges in Rivers State. I was clueless that less than six months after, the enthroned and the enthroner would begin a destructive dance that would redefine the concept of separation of powers, judicial overreach, federalism, and fiscal equity.
Some persons have opined that Nyesom Wike has nothing to do with the crisis in Rivers State. While I might have a contrary view, I recognise the right of such persons to stay committed to premium fooling and unbridled deception. At the crux of the chaos is one person’s desperation to achieve what no one has ever achieved in Rivers State – to become a true godfather running all levers of governance in a state where the prevalent culture demands that no one is above reprimand. Whereas even our legal system dictates that any contract that fails to meet certain conditions is invalid regardless of the willingness of the contracting parties, some persons continue to scream that “agreement is agreement”, even if the state is to be worse off from keeping to a depraved agreement.
Let’s leave Wike’s shenanigans and return to the suspension of an “elected government”. After several governors made the suspension of local government chairpersons their dinner dessert, the Supreme Court ruled that no such authority lies with any state governor. The question then becomes that if a state governor cannot remove an elected local council leader from office, why should a president have the power to remove an elected governor? Of course, the simple answer is that the president has no such power. Many apologists of the absurd have pointed to the illegalities perpetuated by former President Olusegun Obasanjo as a precedent demonstrating that a president can remove a governor from office. But those apologists ignore the judicial pronouncements that declared such illegalities illegal. More importantly, they ignore the context that Obasanjo ruled in an era where Nigerians had just transited to democracy after a lengthy period of military dictatorship where the coup-installed dictators had almost unrestrained power backed by bullets and notorious prisons. Hence, many Nigerians were still under the wrong notion that like a military dictator, a civilian president had unlimited powers akin to an unquestionable deity.
Some others have cited one Emergency Powers Act supposedly enacted in 2018. But there is no evidence that such an Act granting the president the authority to suspend a governor was ever passed by both chambers of the National Assembly, assented by the then president, and published in the Federal Gazette. But even if such an Act were to exist, it would be contrary to the constitution, hence, invalid to the extent of that contradiction. Even more importantly, this phantom Act was neither cited in President Tinubu’s broadcast nor in any publication of the government after the state of emergency was declared. Only dedicated defenders of the suspension bring up this “Act” when they are shown that the constitution does not grant the president any power to suspend a governor.
Beyond Rivers State, this suspension, if allowed to stand, would set a dangerous precedent that could set many states on fire in future. If a president does not like a governor, all that is needed is to cook up a little disorder and jump into the fray with a prepared state of emergency. But this is not the Nigeria we want. This is not the Nigeria that would be able to develop itself and truly stand as the Giant of Africa.
Another oddity is the appointment of a Sole Administrator and designation of the Federal Executive Council as the de facto legislature of Rivers State. The risk is that no legal framework provides a foundation for this arrangement, which means that any action undertaken by the unelected ruler can be challenged later in court and declared invalid. Interestingly, the Federal Government that earlier cited a Supreme Court ruling regarding the availability of a valid budget before releasing funds to Rivers State is now ready to release funds to its favoured administrator without recourse to the subsisting judgement.
I understand the concept of the doctrine of necessity and how a leader would sometimes have to take unpopular decisions for the greater good, but that does not justify this act of spitting on the constitution. The only reason President Tinubu is the president is because the constitution states that based on certain conditions, he is authorised to hold that position. We clearly need a political solution to the crisis rocking the Treasure Base of the Nation, but no part of that solution requires making a mockery of our legal system. Maybe the first step to a resolution is removing the veil of 2027 and addressing the lead auditioner for the powerful godfather role.
PS. There is an HB 393: Emergency Powers (Repeal and Enactment) Bill, 2023 currently stuck at the National Assembly
Image Credit: iStockphoto
Jilomes 