Rivers State: ‘Wike Left Us in This Mess, Is Excluded From Fubara’s Punishment’ – Nwapa Laments

Alban Unoma Nwapa, a popular Nigerian artist, has criticised President Bola Tinubu for excluding the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, from the punishment meted out to Rivers State Governor Sim Fubara, his deputy, and House of Assembly members.

According to reports, Rivers State’s political instability prompted Tinubu to declare a state of emergency and suspend Fubara for six months.
Speaking to journalists in Abuja, Nwapa said Tinubu should have brought Wike to order instead of declaring a state of emergency.

Nwapa, who ruled the airwaves with his own brand of music from the late 1990s to the 2000s, complained that Tinubu lacked the constitutional authority to remove Fubara and his deputy.
He also discussed the financial ramifications of proclaiming a state of emergency, emphasizing that it wastes government money.

The artist also stated that Tinubu’s actions set a poor precedent for Nigeria’s democracy.

He remarked, “And to think that this man, Fubara, was democratically chosen by the people, whilst the other person is only a minister with no electoral importance in his own state of roughly 2 million eligible voters or more!

“The most annoying element is that he has not been made to share in the punishment meted out to Fubara.

“No one has mentioned his name. Nobody mentioned his name, even the President, the Senate, and the Supreme Court! It is very sad.

“Oh, my response is simple: the President should have called Wike to order rather than declaring a State of Emergency on Rivers.

“Calling Wike to order would’ve been the logical thing to do because he is the reason we got into this problem in the first place! The state of emergency imposed on Rivers has completely devastated the state’s democratic framework. It has mocked the entire democratic system.

“You suspended both the governor and his deputy, even though you did not have the constitutional authority to do so.

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“Will the State House of Assembly also cease to function for the next six months?” Come on, this is ridiculous. Imposing a state of emergency is unnecessary and wasteful.

“Taxpayers’ money, of course! So, calling Wike to order is significantly cheaper than making the foolish decision to declare a state of emergency. But, even putting the monetary implications aside, the severe harm it has caused to Rivers state’s democratic structure is terrible. It’s annoying. They will need some time to recover from this setback.

“It’s like setting a dangerous precedent because all other governors should now expect anything to happen to them at any time.

“One morning, the President can simply wake up, decide he no longer likes the face of a specific governor, and then suspend him from office! Is that the kind of country we live in now?

“And the National Assembly na wa! This voice voting is wild! Yes, I know they do a lot of odd things, but this one shocked me. It shook me.

“We know they do many inconceivable things, but this voice vote to determine two-thirds is daylight robbery.

“I was astonished and surprised that they had the arrogance to do this. A state with millions of eligible voters, and they did this?

“And then they didn’t worry about the consequences of their actions. The aspect that confuses me is the voice voting; how do you determine two-thirds using voice voting? This is lunacy.”