By Philip Yatai
The Senior Special Assistant to the Federal Capital Territory Minister on Public Communications and New Media, Mr. Lere Olayinka, has cautioned Afenifere Chieftain, Dr. Femi Okuronmu, against getting involved in the Rivers crisis, especially if he is not prepared to speak impartially .
Olayinka said this while reacting to Okuronmu's statement that President Bola Tinubu has not paid attention to the ongoing crisis in Rivers in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday.
The media aide asked Okuronmu what exactly he expected from Tinubu after blaming Governor Siminalai Fubara's lawlessness for the long-running crisis in Rivers.
He said Tinubu could not have quashed various judicial pronouncements and included Fubara in his reign of anarchy?
He cautioned Sardar to avoid getting involved in matters that might ridicule his status as an elder statesman, especially matters on which he would not speak impartially.
He described it as “strange” that the former senator might choose to become an ostrich due to the heavy burden of Okuronmu Fubara’s disobedience of court rulings.
According to him, this kind of insult on the judiciary is endangering democracy and peace in the country.
“Although no one is too surprised, because of the seven senators suspended since 1999, Okuronmu holds the record of being the first senator to be suspended by his colleagues.”
Okuronmu also accused FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, of being the architect and mastermind of the Rivers crisis.
He had argued that even though Fubara was his godson, Wike should be told that he could not be his surrogate as the sitting governor with full powers.
But Olayinka said Wike never asked Governor Fubara to be his surrogate, nor asked him not to act as Rivers Governor.
He stressed that Okuronmu as an elder should be honest enough to stand in front of the mirror and ask himself what role he played in becoming the governor of Fubara.
“In Yorubaland, when two children are fighting, the elders sit them down and listen to their sides about the conflict.
“Elders do not just sit in their bedrooms and apportion blame, as Baba Femi Okuronmu did.
“Was it Wike who went to the Rivers State House of Assembly complex and set it on fire to prevent duly elected MPs from discharging their duties?
“Was it Wike who was illegally using three members out of the 32-member State Assembly to perform legislative functions in Rivers State including passing the state budget as well as screening and confirmation of commissioners, while The Constitution says that the budget can do this only if it is passed by two-thirds of the assembly members?
He pointed out that Governor Fubara was ignoring the rulings of the courts regarding his reign of lawlessness in Rivers.
He explained that a Court of Appeal in Abuja had on October 10 affirmed a lower court ruling that Rivers State's 2024 budget had been signed into law and was being administered by Fubara.
“Did the Governor follow the decision?
“Is it not shocking that Okuronmu chose to ignore Governor Fubara’s deliberate affront to the rule of law and democracy and peace in Nigeria? he asked.
A Federal High Court in Abuja on October 30 blocked the Central Bank of Nigeria from releasing further monthly allocations to the Rivers government.
In her judgment, Justice Joyce Abdulmalik cited alleged constitutional violations by Governor Fubara and described his presentation of the 2024 budget in the four-member House of Assembly as a “breach of constitutional protocol”.
On his part, Fubara, on November 4, blamed resource control for the ongoing political crisis in the state and vowed to ensure security of the state's resources. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
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