Rufai Oseni challenges Supreme Court over Rivers crisis

By Dickson Omobola

Arise anchor, Mr Rufai Oseni, has challenged the Supreme Court to hear the case filed against the state of emergency rule and the sole administrator in Rivers State.

Oseni, who spoke on the Morning Show, argued that the deliberate decision to delay hearing the case was not the appropriate way to run a democracy.

According to him, the forthcoming local government election in Rivers is tied to the Supreme Court’s verdict and the future of Rivers.

His words: “When the story of democracy is written in this country many years from now, we will ask questions about what the court did. Today, my challenge is to the Supreme Court of Nigeria. Many PDP governors filed a case against the state of emergency and the sole administrator.

“Why has the Supreme Court not heard that case, or do they want to delay it until the expiration of the six months’ state of emergency? It looks like that. Since the case was filed, the Supreme Court has not sat on it. If the Supreme Court does not hear a case like this, we will not be able to determine whether the aberration of the state of emergency was right. Do you know what it will breed? Other presidents will use that state of emergency clause to settle political scores, and that is how Nigeria begins to disintegrate morally. I might be wrong, but here is my challenge: I do not think the Supreme Court will hear that case, it can prove me wrong. If it hears that case, it will be a miracle. I will come on air and celebrate the Supreme Court. But my gut instincts tell me otherwise, because that is the bane of development in Rivers. The fact that the court has not determined the illegality of that aberration makes everyone hide under it. And this is not the first time.

“The last time a President declared a state of emergency and the case was taken to court, the court also delayed until it was overtaken by events. When we eventually write about democracy, the role played by the courts will matter. I want to challenge the Supreme Court to save democracy and hear this case.

“Going back to the ongoing aberration, the Rivers State electoral laws are clear: you must give a 90-day threshold. As we speak, no such threshold was given. They have simply gone ahead to determine the date of an election under a sole administrator. In fact, I will read some of the demands put forward by elders in Rivers State. They said there is no legally constituted Rivers State Independence Electoral Commission, RSIEC, as mandated by Section 235 and Section 12 of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Law.

“They raised concerns about the 90-day notice requirement. They insisted Rivers has been plunged into a constitutional crisis. They also pointed to Section 7, Subsection 1 of the 1999 Constitution, which vests the exclusive responsibility for local council elections in the state government. They stressed that this blatant usurpation of state autonomy desecrates our federal architecture and imperils democratic governance in the country. These are the grounds, but all of these are tied to the Supreme Court case.

“I am not surprised that Nyesom Wike would say people should ignore it. But let us ask Wike a question: did he ignore the first local government elections that were not in his favour? He went to court, and his cohorts or associates went to court to overturn those elections. The reason he is doing this now is because he knows the local government holds the ace in the grand political scheme of the state. He knows that once local government officials are elected, likely those pandering to him, he will be able to hold Fubara by the jugular, because he will control both the state House of Assembly and the local government architecture. That will make Fubara a lame duck when he comes in. And that is why Wike had the temerity to say on television that the state of emergency will probably end soon.

“Those saying the state of emergency was to save Fubara should not pee on our backs and tell us it is raining. The state of emergency was designed to tilt the political equation in favour of Wike, because he has already secured everything he wanted. This will be the last crown jewel. He already has the state House of Assembly. Once the state of emergency is lifted, he will seize the local governments on top of it. Fubara will then be unable to fight back within his own political architecture, and that is what is playing out. But the fact that it is aided by the President of this country is a complete aberration.

“The fact that the court has failed to determine this case since it was filed shows we are simply grinding forward, waiting until the expiration of events, and then saying it has been overtaken by events. That is not how to run a democracy. Today, it favours people like Wike. Tomorrow, when the tide turns against him, I hope he will not cry.”

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