The last may not have been heard about the political crises in Rivers State. The election in the troubled state was adjudged one of the most controversial by both local and international observer groups. Last week, the Election Petitions Tribunal nullified the election of Governor Nyesom Wike, Speaker Ikuiyin-Owaji Ibani and 19 other honourable members elected on the platform of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Assistant Editor, Dare Odufowokan, reports on a looming constitutional crisis in the troubled state.
Following the nullification of the elections of incumbent Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, as well as the annulment of the victories of Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Hon. Ikuiyin-Owaji Ibani and 19 other honourable members elected on the platform of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), by the Rivers State Election Petitions Tribunals, concern is mounting over a possible constitutional crisis in the troubled state should the Supreme Court validate the governor’s removal while the issue of the state’s depleted legislature is not resolved.
According to Dupe Oduguwa, a legal practitioner and pro-democracy activist, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria empowers only the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, and no one else, to act as the governor of a state in event the governor and his deputy are no longer available, either following their deaths or removal from office by courts of competent jurisdiction.
And according to her, should the Supreme Court uphold the rulings of the tribunal, not only Governor Nyesom Wike would be expected to leave office, his deputy, Mrs. Ipalibo Banigo, will also have to leave office too. Although Wike and his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have vowed to pursue his removal from office to the Supreme Court with confidence that the tribunal’s rulings would be upturned, some pundits are of the opinion that the case can still go either way, given the weight of evidences for and against the ruling.
Also, with the continued stay of the current Speaker, Hon. Ikuiyin-Owaji Ibani, threatened, following the nullification of his victory by the same tribunal that asked Wike to go and face fresh elections, observers of the politics of the restive state say the state may be heading for another constitutional crisis similar to the one its faced when the absence of a Chief Judge threatened the swearing-in of the incumbent governor.
“There is indeed good reasons to be worried. Given that the tribunal’s rulings are not final and the defendants still have the grace of approaching appellate courts up to the Supreme Court, we must also not lose sight of the possibility of the tribunal’s rulings being upheld all the way. The question we should be asking ourselves is ‘what happens if the nullifications of the governor’s election, and that of the Speaker, are upheld at the same time?
Or what happens if the governor has to vacate his seat at a time the House of Assembly is unable to appoint a new Speaker to replace Banigo? I say this because there is another angle to this threat. Don’t forget that 19 other honourable members had their elections nullified by the tribunal too. Currently, they are in the appellate court.
And without two third of the membership of the House, a new Speaker cannot be elected. Considering that in Nigeria, cases do drag, what happens if the Speaker is finally sent packing alongside most of his 19 co-travelers and the House is left with just 13 members? Not even the required quorum for plenary would be formed by the remaining members, not to talk of electing a new Speaker.
Should the Supreme Court sack Wike at such a time, what will happen to the seat of the governor of the state? That is the issue here and that is the question that is begging for an answer. As a lawyer, I can tell you that the constitution as currently drafted made no statement on a situation like this. Perhaps a situation like this wasn’t envisaged. But now that we are faced with its possibility, it is not out of place to begin to seek how best to approach it should it happen,” the legal practitioner explained.
The queer twist
While nullifying Wike’s election on grounds that his election did not comply with electoral guidelines, chairman of the tribunal, Justice Suleiman Ambrosa, has ordered INEC to conduct fresh elections in the state within 90 days of the ruling. The petition challenging Wike’s victory was filed by the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Dakuku Peterside.
Barely 48 hours after the election of Wike as governor was nullified, the Rivers State House of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal, sitting in Abuja, introduced a twist into the already murky political landscape of the state when it delivered the judgements that sent the Speaker and 19 of his colleagues in the Rivers State House of Assembly, packing. The 20 lawmakers were all standard bearers of the PDP during the April 11, 2015 state assembly election.
Consequently, the 32 member House is now left with only 13 honourables seating pretty without their elections being challenged. Sacked by the tribunal are Jack Major, representing Akuku Toru 1; Tonye Alalibo, representing Akuku Toru11; Ikuinyi Ibani, representing Andoni, Granville Wellington from Asari-Toru 1; Enemi George from Asari-Toru 11 and Abinye Pepple from Bonny.
Others are Ngbulelo Israel from Gokana; Oguguo Anslem from Ikwere; Deeyah Bariene, Khana 1; Dinebari Loolo from Khana 11 and Amaewhule Chike from Obio/Akpor 1, Michael Chinda from Obio/Akpor 11; Ihunwo Nyeche, Port Harcourt 11 and Ngbar Amulele from Tai. Lawmakers elected for Eleme, Etche II, Opobo/Nkoro, Onelga I, Degema, and Ikwerre were also sacked by the tribunal.
However, the tribunal upheld the elections of the candidates in 13 constituencies. Those who survived the election nullification include: Deputy Speaker Marshall Stanley-Uwom (Abua/Odual); Chief of the House Evans Bipi (Ogu/Bolo); the only APC member in the Assembly, Olu Josiah John (Eleme) and 10 other lawmakers.
With the Assembly badly depleted by the tribunal’s ruling and the executive arm of government seriously threatened by the nullification of the governorship election, the stage was set for what some analysts say may require another doctrine of necessity to resolve.
A nutty issue
Already, the Rivers State chapter of the APC, optimistic of victory at the appellate courts, has described the sacking of 21 lawmakers of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), including the Speaker, Rt. Hon. IKunyi Ibani, by the Rivers State Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Abuja, as the end of the road for Governor Nyesom Wike.
The state Chairman of the APC, Dr. Davies Ibiamu Ikanya, who made the declaration in a statement following the sacking of the PDP lawmakers, said the tribunal’s verdicts on the lawmakers have shown clearly that the nullification of the governor’s election is in order. The party boss said there is no gainsaying in the fact that the tribunal did justice to all the cases before it.
But Simeon Nwakaudu, the Special Assistant (Media) to the Rivers State Governor, insists that the judgment of the Justice Ambrosa-led Tribunal in the petition filed by Rivers State All Progressives Congress (APC) Governorship Candidate, Mr. Dakuku Peterside, will not stand the test of Appeal. So, he sees no constitutional crisis emanating from the judgement of the appellate courts.
“The Rivers State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal erred in its judgment and this will be corrected at the appellate level. There cannot be a different set of rules for Rivers State, aside that which has been approved by the National Assembly and upheld by other tribunals and the Appeal Court,” he said.
Nwakaudu said that the press statement issued by INEC could never override the law made by the representatives of the Nigerian people.
Besides, he said that the Rivers State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal had earlier thrown out the petitions of the Labour Party and that of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) on the valid premise that they contravened the Electoral Act Section 85 (1), which stipulates that a political party must give INEC 21 Days Notice before conducting her primary.
Also, embattled Speaker Ikuinyi Owaji-Ibani, says he has appealed the tribunal’s judgment and he’s certain that the judiciary will vindicate him. “All I want to say is that ‘I, Ikuinyi Owaji-Ibani, have appealed against the judgment of the lower court and that if it comes to Andoni where I come, I know my people and my people know me.
“Going by the several judgments given by the different panels at the Rivers State Election Petitions Tribunal, I would say that the Rt. Hon. Ikuinyi Owaji-Ibani, the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, was not sacked by any election petition tribunal. What happened was that a tribunal gave a ruling in its opinion against my election that of 19 other members of the legislature and none of the members were also sacked by the tribunal.”
To former State Chairman of the Joint Action Committee (JACON) and a respected pro-democracy activist, Comrade Austin Agumagu, the state may be in for another constitutional crisis soon. According to him, it is unfortunate that the lack of sportsmanship amongst politicians has ensured that Rivers State is constantly in the news for the wrong reasons.
He said, “How on earth did we find ourselves in a situation where only 13 members, that is just about one third of the members of our House of Assembly, are duly elected? It simply means that our politicians believe more in rigging elections and forcing themselves on the people even when it is obvious that the people would prefer some other persons.
It is this lack of sportsmanship and democratic values that has brought us to this nutty situation. I see a constitutional crisis. I see a situation where we will again be calling on the world to help us find solution to a difficult problem soon. Should Governor Wike’s election be nullified by the Supreme Court at a time when the House of Assembly membership is seriously depleted and the current Speaker affected, there will be no way to elect a Speaker that will constitutionally act as governor pending the election of a substantive governor by the electoral commission.
This is the scenarios we fear. Although I am not a legal practitioner, I have discussed this at length with senior lawyers and they expressed the same fear as mine. We have a situation where the constitution didn’t make any provision for the situation we are envisaging. Simply put, we may have to wait upon another doctrine of necessity to resolve the logjam should it happen,” he said.
