Friday, June 26, 2015

Wike Can’t Overrule Supreme Court On Omehia – APC


Barrister Nyesom Ezebunwo Wike

The All Progressives Congress (APC), Rivers State chapter, has stated that Governor Nyesom Wike cannot overrule the Supreme Court on his Thursday’s recognition of Sir Celestine Ngozichim Omehia as a former Rivers governor.

APC, through its Publicity Secretary, Chris Finebone, asked Wike, a former Minister of State for Education and ex-Chief of Staff to former Governor Rotimi Amaechi, to stop playing to the gallery.

The Rivers APC insisted that Omehia was never “a governor in the eyes of the law,” according to the Supreme Court, wondering why Wike would prefer to play politics with the issue already decided by the apex court.

The Nation report continues:
APC said: “The Supreme Court explicitly declared that Omehia held the office of Rivers governor in error, illegally and ordered that Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi be immediately inaugurated as the rightful governor of Rivers State.

“Apart from Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, the next immediate beneficiary of that development was Barr. Nyesom Wike, who was shortly appointed Chief of Staff by Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi. Can Governor Wike, in all honesty, recall drawing the attention of his former boss to the need to override certain aspects of the Supreme Court judgment and defiantly restore Omehia’s rights, howbeit, as he has just done? Can governor Wike today own up to several of the anti-Omehia actions he took as Amaechi’s Chief of Staff, until he was called to order?

“Rather than feel surprised at the charade that the governor personally carried out on Thursday, the APC feels embarrassed that an individual, who is licensed to practice law within the Nigerian territory, would in the most flagrant manner, disregard the judgment of the Supreme Court of the land, for selfish political expediency. More embarrassing is that the recipient (Omehia) is himself a lawyer as well, who had previously sought to get the Supreme Court reverse itself in related matters without success.

“The APC will like Rivers people and Nigerians to know that the action and utterances of Wike are nothing more than standing in front of the mirror for the world to see and confirm the real Wike, who is ready to abandon civility, reason and decency on the altar of political expediency.

“Indeed, it does not matter to Governor Wike that as a lawyer, he should be at the vanguard of defending the pronouncements of courts rather than defying them. He should defend the laws of the land, rather than break them. He should think, act and talk like a governor and not just like any other citizen.”

APC said: “We expect that if governor Wike was genuinely interested in rehabilitating Omehia, along the line he has taken, the best would have been for him to approach the Supreme Court to reverse its earlier decision on the matter and not resorting to self help. Indeed, there are other legitimate ways to reward a political associate, without breaking the law and defying state institutions.

“The APC rejects the attempt by a sitting governor to undermine the integrity and sanctity of the judiciary, which is what Wike did yesterday (on Thursday), against the verdict of the Supreme Court of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
The Rivers APC also stated that the action of the governor of the state suggested that he had abandoned the oath of office and oath of allegiance he swore to on May 29, 2015, right on top of the podium he stood.

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