The Ijaw National Council (INC) and Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) have warned that they will resist any forceful attempt to remove the governor of Rivers State, Siminilayi Fubara, from office.
INC and IYC condemned the recent Supreme Court judgement, which reinstated the Martins Amaewhule-led members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, who had been at loggerheads with the governor, and also sacked all elected local government chairmen in the state.
The groups further warned that should those threatening impeachment against Fubara carry out their threat, the youths of Ijaw nation will be left with no other options than to shut down all the flow stations in the Niger Delta.
But former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of All Progressives Congress (APC), Timi Frank, called on the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and justices of the Supreme Court, who heard the Rivers State case to avoid any temptation to doctor the original judgement.
Action Alliance (AA) said it had accepted the judgement of the Supreme Court in good faith.
At the same time, the chairmen of councils elected in 2015 vowed to take over the local government headquarters.
In a statement, President of INC, Professor Benjamin Okaba, declared that the judgement failed to acknowledge the historical and political sacrifices made by the Ijaw people in Rivers State’s governance. It said any attempt to undermine Fubara would have dire consequences for national peace and economic stability.
The statement, which traced the history of what it called Ijaw sacrifices in Rivers politics, added that the Ijaw people had played a crucial role in shaping the state’s leadership for decades.
INC warned against any plan to destabilise Rivers State, saying, the Ijaw people will defend Fubara “with every pint of blood in their veins”. He emphasised that the Ijaw will not stand by and allow their long-awaited tenure to be truncated.
Okaba said while INC had worked tirelessly to preserve peace in the Niger Delta, leading to increased oil production and revenue for the nation, it was regrettable that the same resources were now being used to marginalize the Ijaw people.
He pointed out that the trend extended beyond Rivers State to Ondo, Edo, Delta, and Akwa Ibom, where Ijaws continued to face political exclusion.
President of IYC, Theophilus Alaye, in a statement, also said those threatening impeachment against Fubara should be careful because any forceful attempt to remove him from office will be resisted.
The group urged those bent on destabilising Rivers State to tread with caution.
Alaye said the grounds on which the Supreme Court nullified the Rivers State local government elections were very provocative and laughable, as other states equally relied on the 2023 Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) voters’ register to conduct local government elections.
He stated that Rivers State, as a major contributor to the national coffers, should not be starved of funds from their God-given natural endowment.
The IYC president urged the apex court to review the judgement, saying it has agitated the youths of Ijaw nation, who had maintained peace in the Niger Delta and supported the President Bola Tinubu government.
He also warned that it was the fierce quest of the then National Party of Nigeria (NPN) to take over opposition controlled states that led to the military take-over in 1983.
Alaye urged the Tinubu government not to create situations that would destroy the current democratic experience.
Nevertheless, Frank, in a statement, alleged that there were plots by some persons loyal to a former governor of Rivers State to import the issue of defection, which was still at the Court of Appeal, into the recent Supreme Court judgement to undermine the ongoing cases.
He stated, “There is an ongoing plot to doctor the Supreme Court Judgement on Rivers and insert issues of defection, that were not litigated by the parties, by the pro-Wike group to help destroy the pending cases on defection before the appeal court and Federal High Court.
“The issue of defection and legal battle to decide whether they were right or wrong is presently at the appeal court and Federal High Court, where Nigerians are waiting to see the judicial interpretation of the illegal act of cross carpeting at a time there was no division, which was also backed by a court affidavit sworn to by the defected lawmakers.
“We are calling on the Supreme Court, Chief Justice, and the Panel of Justices, who heard the case, to ensure that the desperate attempts do not taint their judgement and that the issue of defection, which is still at the appeal court, is not imported into the judgement to undermine the ongoing cases.
“We are confident that the eminent jurist who delivered the judgment knows the issues at stake and will not fail Nigerians by ensuring that a check is put on the Wike group’s political madness and desperation, which is threatening constitutional democracy in Nigeria.”
