De-recognition: Another case of score-settling in Rivers State

Sir Celestine Omehia was removed from office as the governor of Rivers State in October 2007, after holding office for five months. The Supreme Court at the time had ruled that he had usurped Mr Rotimi Amaechi’s ticket for the election, and accordingly handed Mr Amaechi the office.

On assuming office, Mr Amaechi interpreted the judgment to mean that Omehia was never governor, regardless of the fact that he was in office between May 29 and October 25, 2007. Perhaps, he took it as a “reign of illegality.” He took steps to obliterate every insignia or representation of former Governor Omehia’s time in office, including physically destroying the ex-governor’s portraits in the government house. He denied him every privilege due to him and excluded him from the list of beneficiaries in the 2012 Law on the pensions and benefits of former governors.

At the coming of Governor Nyesom Wike in 2015, the decision of Amaechi was reversed and Omehia was accorded due recognition as a former governor of the state and all privileges were restored. Governor Wike in his remark at the occasion that day said, “government should never be personalised and personal animosity should have no room in it.” Without any doubt, he would be reminded of this statement in days to come.

After about seven years, precisely last week, Rivers State House of Assembly now “have better facts” to de-recognise Omehia as ex-governor, striping him of all his benefits. In fact, he’s given ultimatum to refund all monies collected so far in the name of benefits within seven days. Governor Wike hinted that the leader of the house adduced that the strength of the information they have now had compelled them to reverse what they did in 2015.

Explaining further, Wike said that, “The Supreme Court judgement categorically stated that Sir Celestine Omehia was never a governor, because he never stood for any election and that it will be inappropriate for their (assembly) legacy that they didn’t respect the judgment of the Supreme Court.” One would begin to wonder if the house and the governor did not have access to the court judgement in 2015.

The governor, all in the name of assenting to the the purported resolution of the house said he has always been respectful of resolutions from the house and never had reason to disagree with them.

For those that care to know, Gov. Wike himself is a lawyer that is not expected to be dogmatic in handling constitutional matters that he has sworn to uphold.

In a very swift response, All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has asked Wike and the house to apologize to Rivers people for recanting to Sir Omehia the status and privileges of former governor against the decision of the Supreme Court.

The spokesperson of Rivers APC, Darlington Nwauju declared that the decision of the house to recognise Omehia as ex-governor, against the pronouncement of the the Supreme Court was an aberration. He queried that the same house that saw it as being politically correct  to recognise Omehia in 2015 as an ex-governor in the face of political realities today is no longer expedient.

According to him, the recognition accorded Omehia then was to spite Amaechi. He expressed worries over “the deployment of political might in Rivers State and the obvious abuse of such powers as a dangerous signal to the growth of democracy in the state.” How can, he went further, “a state house of assembly which ordinarily should serve as bastion of democracy, the voice and conscience of Rivers’ people, be reduced to the governor’s lackey and attack dog against the governor’s perceived political enemies?”

A former chairman of one of the political parties was allegedly quoted to have said that any thief that crosses to their party becomes automatically free. There are allegations that the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), is being used to witch hunt political opponents. We feel, genuinely at it, that fighting corruption should be across the board.

One would begin to wonder what overturned the “wrong” decision of Amaechi to de-recognise Omehia? Could Wike and the house be right the two times? The “better facts” the house now have, who hid them? Was it that Gov. Wike and the assembly men were not having access to the verdict of the Supreme Court of 2007?  Can it be said that recognition of 2015 and and de-recognition of 2022 are all in the best interest of Rivers people? Of whose benefits then? Or is it another case of rebuttal?

Not until we begin to do things right, we may not get it right. If this contagious “cancer” called score-settling is not  nipped in the bud once and for all, we hope our country does not get consumed by it.