RANDOM MUSINGS:
RIVERS STATE LG POLLS, COURT ‘ORDERS’ AND ONE OTHER THING.
with
Ben C. Abraham.
LOCAL GOVT ELECTIONS IN RIVERS STATE
Rivers State has been the focal point of much discourse on both the mainstream and social media for a while now. On the back of the July 11th Judgment by the Supreme court in the case of AG Federation vs AG Abia State & others, so many States which had hitherto run their local Government councils from the bedroom of the State Governor harried to conduct local elections in order to fulfill the constitutional requirement as well as conform with the Supreme court judgment. This class of elections have already been conducted in Imo, Anambra, Enugu amongst others. The story of what went on in these elections is the focus for another day. But when the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission RSIEC announced that elections would hold for the local Governments on October 5th, some raw chords were touched, not the least the ex-Governor and serving Minister of the FCT, Nyesom Wike. In a carefully orchestrated plan, Minister Wike working with the PDP chieftains in Abuja took control of the state structure of the party when the congresses were conducted in defiance of the longstanding tradition of having State Governors control the party machinery in the state. Of course, Wike in keeping with his promise to outwit Governor Fubara saw the congress coup de grace as a stepping stone. Fubara had to run for his political life and thus shepherded his men into the Action Peoples party (APP) to contest the local Government elections. Wike saw the temerity of the Governor’s action as an affront and vowed to teach him a lesson. Pronto, a Federal High court in Abuja made an order stopping the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from handing over the voters list to their Rivers State counterpart. It was to provide a judicial shackle to the elections. Not done, the same court made an order stopping the Nigerian police, a federal body, from providing security during the elections. It was, in simple term, an invitation to lawlessness. Before the elections, a State High court had ordered for the elections to go on as scheduled but the federal Judge chose to ignore that order. Citing the order, the police stayed away from their constitutional duty on election day. Reports have it that some of them chose to act roguishly in interfering with election materials. The elections have come and gone and the APP was declared winner in 22 out of 23 local Government councils. The new chairmen have also been sworn in. Whether the last has been heard about the Rivers State Local Government elections we can’t say. Time will tell.
COURT ‘ORDERS’ AND OBEDIENCE;
On Monday 30th September, Hon Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun had the rare privilege of presiding over her first special ceremonial court session signaling the commencement of a new legal year for the Supreme Court of Nigeria, the apex court. It was also, in accordance with tradition, a day that eighty-something distinguished lawyers who had earlier been selected by the privileges committee were conferred with the senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN) rank. Hopefully, Madam Kudirat will preside over many more sessions. In delivering her speech during the occasion, the judiciary numero uno warned that the days of disobeying court orders by individuals and organizations had come to an end. She insisted that no one irrespective of social status will be permitted to treat the courts with disregard, noting that disobedience to court orders or non-compliance with judicial directives is not only a direct affront to democracy but also an invitation to anarchy. True talk, after all we don’t hear about such things in other climes we labour to emulate. Our amazon’s self-assurance and gusto must be cherished in trying, at the least, to chart a clear path for her Judicial presidency. Now, warning everyone to obey court orders is only one side of the coin. The other side of the coin is how to tame a metastatic bug in the judiciary – controversial orders, judgments and directives. The valedictory court sessions of many appellate court Judges provide a platform for the ordinary person to see how the minds of these men and women work. Recent occasions have seen many retiring Judges lampoon their own constituency over the clearly lowering standards in what used to be an enviable profession. These concerns are not lost on Chief Justice kekere-ekun and that is why she should, in converse, blow hot on controversial Judgments by her colleagues. It is somewhat contextual that while she was presiding over the new legal year ceremonies, the media was agog with the order made by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High court Abuja providing judicial fetters to the local Government elections in Rivers State scheduled to hold on October 5th. It didn’t matter to the Judge that the Federal High court had no jurisdiction on such causes as presented to it. It also didn’t matter that another court of coordinate jurisdiction in Rivers State had made an earlier order providing judicial teeth to the elections. These are the kind of things Mama Kudirat should worry more about. To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction as the 3rd law of motion states. In essence, court orders will not be obeyed when the citizens lose trust in the judiciary and rightly so, what with rogue and conflicting court decisions. Nigerians are eagerly waiting to see when the cleaning of the Judiciary augean stable will commence under my lady.
……AND ONE OTHER THING:
AND OFF TO LONDON HE GOES AGAIN;
President Tinubu strongly desires not to be beaten to the first position in the race to determine the most travelled Nigerian president. The presidency announced last week that the president would start a two-week vacation as part of his annual leave and it would be spent in London. Not quite 3 weeks after returning from London where he suddenly showed up and shook hands with Oga Charlie, the British king, while we thought that he was on his way from China, he has decided to go back to the home of our former colonial masters. After the announcement by the presidency, a catalogue of countries Baba Tinubu had travelled to since assumption of office circulated online. Presidents of countries occasionally leave their base and travel in order to fulfil their state functions when the need arises and this will always be the argument of Government spokespersons and their paid trumpeters on this matter. In any case, Nigerians have become so emasculated financially and emotionally that the news about their president’s travels don’t make any headlines and don’t make a meaning to them. As far as many are concerned, Tinubu can stay abroad for all they care. That may, in the minds of many, herald good tidings and a change of fortune for the beleaguered country. Because for many, Tinubu is synonymous with hardship, difficulties and most of all, hunger. Ebinpami, ebinpawa (I am hungry, we are hungry) has become a catchphrase and it is not looking funny. And to think and actually see that the president and his men make no pretence about the pitiable situation of Nigerians while they themselves live ostentatiously make it the more insalubrious. Everyday Nigerians wake up with a feeling of being in captivity, a conquered people who can neither speak up nor change their fortunes even as our economy managers try out textbook principles of Samuelson and Keynes. Meanwhile, when will a Nigerian President even take his annual leave to Obudu cattle ranch in Cross Rivers State or Tinapa or somewhere, just somewhere in Nigeria, nay Africa? Let no one delude himself about the messianic plan of this Government. Time will prove this statement right.