- PDP asks Buhari to suspend Amaechi, others
The governors of Delta, Rivers and Akwa
Ibom states – Ifeanyi Okowa, Nyesom Wike and Udom Emmanuel – yesterday
debunked the claim made by the Rivers State Chairman of the All
Progressives Congress (APC) Davies Ikanya that the governors were behind
the allegation by Justice Sylvester Ngwuta and Justice Inyang Okoro of
the Supreme Court, who accused Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi of
prompting them to pervert the cause of justice to favour the APC
governorship candidates, especially in Rivers and Akwa Ibom states.
Also yesterday, Wike declared that the
ruling APC is deliberately threatening the foundation of democracy in
Nigeria by its “orchestrated intimidation of the judiciary through false
allegations and illegal arrests.”
On the same day, the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP) asked President Muhammadu Buhari to borrow a leaf from the
step taken by the National Judicial Council (NJC) to suspend indicted
Judges, by also suspending his ministers involved in the corruption
saga.
Governor Okowa declared that he had no
hand in Amaechi’s ‘judicial scandal’ and said that the Rivers APC’s
allegation was false, misleading and a calculated attempt to smear his
hard earned reputation.
He urged Ikanya to concern himself with
the dwindling fortunes of his party in Rivers rather than embarking on a
wild goose chase.
In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Charles Aniagwu, Okowa denied the allegation as not only spurious but laughable.
He said: “The attention of Governor
Okowa has been drawn to yet another spurious allegation by the Rivers
State branch of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“Ordinarily we wouldn’t have joined
issues with a jobless party Chaiman like Ikanya, but in order to set the
records straight, it is pertinent to state that Okowa has no hand in
the latest scandals swirling around the Transportation Minister.
“As governor of Delta State, Okowa is
too busy delivering on his SMART Agenda to be enmeshed in such petty
accusations of orchestrating any accusations against the transport
minister.
“How is it possible for anyone to
imagine that two respected Justices of the Supreme Court were told to
lie that Amaechi made attempts to influence their judgements in his
party’s favour?
“Rather than encourage the former
Governor to defend himself, the Rivers APC is busy looking for people to
rope into their inglorious adventure.”
“We therefore call on the general public to disregard the said publication as there is no iota of truth in it.” Statement added.
In his own reaction, Governor Emmanuel also debunked the APC allegation.
The spokesman of the governor, Ekarete
Udo in an interview with THISDAY last night said the governor “is an
embodiment of transparency and was overwhelmingly elected by the people
and does not need further affirmation.”
He added that the APC should learn to handle Amaechi, “who is now the albatross on the party’s neck.”
Wike said it was a reckless and ridiculous statement coming after the APC had been exposed.
“The revelations underscore the desperation of the APC to take Rivers State and other states under PDP controls.
“It is just ridiculous and laughable.
Unfortunately, it is the APC that has been using state machinery to try
to seize control and undermine PDP controlled states. Recall how the
National Chairman of APC lamented after they lost at the Supreme Court.
They claim Amaechi is a threat to us here. He is not. I defeated his
candidate when he was governor and also defeated him in the rerun
election,” said Wike.
‘Democracy in danger with orchestrated intimidation of the Judiciary’
Meanwhile, while speaking at the
Government House, Port Harcourt yesterday during a courtesy visit by the
Port Harcourt Branch of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), the Rivers
State governor warned lawyers against allowing the “deliberate
destruction of the judiciary under any guise.”
“Because of the harassment of judges by
the ruling party, no judge will ever deliver judgments against the
interest of the federal government and the ruling party,” Wike remarked.
According to him, the ruling party and
her officials have elevated the art of frivolous petition writing
against judges as a means of subverting the course of justice.
He said: “Our democracy is in danger.
Our democracy has been threatened. What is happening to the judiciary
is very deep. NBA must be careful of the deep implications of what it is
also doing in the course of the present attack on the judiciary.
“All these actions are geared towards
silencing everybody as we head to 2019. If anybody tells you that they
are fighting corruption in the judiciary, tell the person that he is
lying.
“They have empowered politicians to
write frivolous petitions against judges. Whether or not the petition is
true, the judge is compelled to step aside.”
Speaking further, he said: “Any judge
who delivers a judgment that is against the interest of the ruling party
is hounded down by the DSS. They have intimidated judicial officers and
put fear in them in a manner that is negatively affecting governance.”
Wike also accused the APC of
masterminding the crisis in the PDP for fear of losing power to the
opposition party at the state and federal levels.
The governor particularly cited the
ongoing Ondo PDP crisis as a point of reference “where frivolous
petitions have been used to further the interest of the ruling party and
destroy the judiciary.”
On the December 10, 2016
date scheduled by INEC for Rivers rerun elections, Wike said the fact
that it was announced less than 24 hours after the Senate ultimatum was
an indication that INEC had been lying to people that insecurity was
behind the repeated postponement of the rerun elections.
Earlier, the Chairman of the Port
Harcourt Branch of the NBA, Mr. Victor Briggs commended Wike for his
commitment to the development of the state
The Port Harcourt NBA thanked the governor for the construction of the ultramodern law centre for the branch.
He assured the government that lawyers would always support all development programmes.
Suspension of Judges: PDP Asks Buhari to Do Same to Ameachi, Others
In a related development, the PDP
yesterday urged Buhari to suspend all his ministers indicted in the
bribery saga involving seven judges.
The NJC had this week announced the
suspension of Justices Sylvester Ngwuta and Justice Inyang Okoro of the
Supreme Court. Others are Justice Mohammed Tsamiya –Presiding Justice of
the Court of Appeal, Ilorin Division; Justice Kabiru Auta – Kano State
High Court; Justice Adeniyi Ademola – Federal High Court, Abuja; Justice
I. A. Umezulike – former Chief Judge of Enugu State and Muazu Pindiga –
Federal High Court, Gombe Division.
The NJC said the suspension was based on
the investigation of these Justices by the Directorate of State
Security (DSS) on various allegations of corruption.
In a statement issued by its Spokesman,
Dayo Adeyeye, PDP said if Buhari retains these ministers in the face of
the serious allegations against them, he would be confirming the fears
that the action against the judges was a deliberate attempt to blackmail
them.
“It is important to note that Justices
Ngwuta and Okoro have alleged that they are the targets of a witchhunt
because they refused offers of inducement and bribes made to them by the
Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi and the Minister of Science &
Technology, Chief Ogbonnaya Onu – to subvert the course of justice in
appeals against the decisions of lower courts in election petitions in
Abia, Akwa Ibom, Ekiti and Rivers States.
“In order to allow for a fair and
independent investigation, it is incumbent on President Buhari to ask
these ministers to step aside pending the conclusion of investigations
into these issues. The Judiciary has set a very good example in its
quest to fight corruption.
“It has proven that it is ready to
reform itself and we commend the NJC for taking this bold step.
Likewise, we call on the administration of President Buhari to emulate
the decision of the NJC mandating the seven Justices to suspend the
performance of their judicial functions pending the conclusion of
investigations against them.
“Anything less will confirm the long
held notion that President Buhari and his administration consider
themselves to be above the law and not subject to the provisions of our
laws and the institutions of our democracy.
“If President Buhari retains these
Ministers in the face of the serious allegations against them, he will
reveal that the entire judicial corruption saga is nothing more than
deliberate attempt to blackmail the judiciary in order to subjugate it
and make it a rubber stamp Institution of the administration.”
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