It was in the evening of Sunday, 15th June 2014 that I phoned one of my cousins living in Port Harcourt, Rivers State to make enquiries about what is happening in my state. He laughed and alleged that “Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State is killing the Judiciary in the state” and also “frustrating the public coronation of the newly chosen Eze Epara Rebisi XII, HRM Eze Barrister Uche Isaiah-Elikwu as the Paramount Ruler of Port Harcourt”. He went further to ask me: “what exactly is Amaechi benefiting from all the huge monies we hear he spends in All Progressives Congress (APC)”? Finally he asked: “brother, since you are in Abuja, you should know better, has Amaechi won the fight against Jonathan”? At this point I remembered that he is pro-Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP); but since then I have been thinking of these issues he raised. That phone discussion lasted over two hours because I had to engage him with questions to elicit explanations and make my own positions known to him.
The four issues my cousin raised are weighty in the present calculations in Rivers State. Let me address them one after the other.
Amaechi versus NJC
The disagreement between Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State and the National Judicial Commission (NJC) is a distraction and an underdevelopment of the Rivers State judiciary.
The 1999 Constitution was clear on the roles to be played by each arm of government to ensure checks and balances in the process of appointing either the Acting Chief Judge of the state or the substantive Chief Judge. My interpretation, as a non-lawyer, of the relevant sections of the Constitution is that the governor should appoint whoever NJC recommended to it and the same person should be confirmed by the state’s House of Assembly. As a Political Scientist, I know that lobby and consultation are important strategies in Politics; Amaechi needs to deploy them in handling this issue to his advantage.
As we speak today, the judiciary in Rivers State has been shot down: no work and every staff is at home. This situation is too horrible and ugly to be allowed in Rivers State. I just wonder where Amaechi would run to in the future to seek justice if the headship of the Supreme Court that made him governor continues to feel slighted in the circumstance. That is why Amaechi needs to tread softly, softly.
Amaechi versus Rebisi Kingdom
Rebisi Kingdom in Ikwerre Ethnic Nationality is one of the most recognized and respected ancient kingdoms in Rivers State. Rebisi is the seat of Port Harcourt, Nigeria’s Garden City and Africa’s premier Oil City. Rebisi Kingdom is, in the core, made up of Elekahia, Oroabali, Orogbum, Oroworukwo, Oroada, Orochiri and Oromeruezimgbu communities ( which in turn have Diobu and Port Harcourt). The Eze Epara stool is the traditional ruler of Rebisi Kingdom and the Paramount Ruler of Port Harcourt. It has been vacant since the death of the last Eze, Chief S. N. Woluchem, despite the fact that the Rebisi kingmakers have long unanimously selected Barrister Uche Isaiah-Elikwu as the next Eze Epara Rebisi and the Paramount Ruler of Port Harcourt.
Chief Victor Wuluchem went against the verdict and got the support of Governor Rotimi Amaechi to the extent that the governor is now insisting that the Kingmakers must accept Chief Victor Woluchem as the new Eze Epara Rebisi. Interestingly, governor Amaechi is an Ikwerre son from Ubima.
Rebisi people, in unison, have disagreed with the governor’s position. This was clear in their publications on page 16, Thisday April 26, 2014 and on page G of Thisday, May 14, 2014.
The duty of the state here is to appreciate such peaceful resolution, accept their verdict and recognize whoever they presented to him. Like in the NJC-Rivers State Judiciary case, the kingmakers are the professionals who know far better than the governor who should lead them.
We cannot afford the on-going ridiculing or go-slow on the recognition and coronation of the new and fresh Eze Epara Rebisi. Port Harcourt Boys and Girls are appealing to the governor to allow peace to reign and let us have our party welcoming the new brand HRM Eze Barrister Uche Isaiah-Elikwu, the popularly chosen Eze Epara Rebisi XII. Without this, and given the growing disquiet among Rebisi, Ikwerre and Rivers people, it might lead to further heating up of the polity in Rivers State. I think the state needs peace especially in the face of the coming 2015 elections. Indeed the time calls for treading carefully on the part of the governor.
Amaechi in APC
Politics is a game of interest. Interest could be personal, group or national. In Political Science, group or sub-national interest is critical in the resolution of conflicts in society and the achievement of national interest.
Therefore good politics most times is about fighting for popular or group interest. Group interest starts from micro/sub-group interest level where the politician belongs and that is why in all countries today, sectional interests are the key interests that articulate national interest. That was why late Chief Obafemi Awolowo argued that Yoruba must develop herself according to her culture and values and coalesce at the centre with other groups for national development. Hence, there ought not to be national politics without sub-national politics. The reconciliation and consensus of sub-national and national politics are critical in a Federation like Nigeria.
Governor Rotimi Amaechi as a politician and a citizen of Nigeria has every right to belong to any political party or group he deems okay for him. Whether that consideration would be solely based on group’s interest or Amaechi’s interest depends on how he sees politics. So, is Amaechi in APC for Ikwerre’s or Rivers’ or Niger Delta’s or indeed Nigeria’s interest? Why did Amaechi leave the ruling PDP for APC? According to him, it was because the PDP under Alh. Bamanga Tukur had become too undemocratic. But Tukur is no longer there; so Amaechi could as well go back to PDP. Then the question would be: in whose interest would Amaechi pursue in PDP? Would that interest be different from that which took him to APC? If Amaechi’s interest is sub-national or group, it could be achieved in either PDP or APC. Otherwise, we may agree that Amaechi is in APC for personal reasons.
Because the goal in APC was to pursue personal interest, then he could leave PDP to APC once PDP refuses to allow him achieve his personal interests. So to such a politician who wants to pursue personal interest in a party where he feels his interest is protected, how much he spends (whether sourced from the state coffers or not) in the party is immaterial to him/her. Nigeria has been a fertile ground for such unprofessional political conducts.
Amaechi versus Jonathan
At first when this rofo-rofo (Fela) fight started, I wrote a personal letter to Amaechi not to pursue the matter the way it was going then. I also advised President Goodluck Jonathan to see Amaechi as his fellow Port Harcourt boy and call him in as a political father. All that failed and today, I dare say that both of them are not finding it funny. Who will win the fight is not the issue because we must first define the deliverables.
Come 2015, Mr. President may win his re-election as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria without Rivers State vote and the governor’s candidate in Rivers State may also win as governor under any political party because only Rivers’ people’s vote will count. So both of them had lost nothing and gained nothing. But the truth remains that those who are losing in this fight are the peoples of Rivers State ( the state that nurtured the President in his adulthood) who appear to have lost Mr. President’s attention to develop the state during the fight and who may continue to lose his attention after the elections because they may not have voted for him like they did in 2011. This is the critical mass or the koko of the issue and that is why the elders and peoples of Rivers State must as a matter of utmost urgency summon a Political Summit now to put this house in order before the 2015 election.
A very good political behavior should be borrowed from Ekiti State where Fayose, despite winning the election recognized that Fayemi is still his governor and paid respect to him. This is the respect I need Amaechi to pay to Mr. President and all other things would be added unto Amaechi. I am sure, knowing the kind of person our President is, he will wholeheartedly receive Amaechi and peace will reign in Rivers State and all the other parasitic issues and their champions will fall and fail like pack of cards. Mr. President and the Governor need each other in other to succeed as politicians in Nigeria. So at the end, politics is not much about “gra-gra” or excessive aggression to force the achievement of group or national interest. It is more about carefully thinking-through relevant strategies and subtly deploying them to achieve a big picture for the group interest. A peaceful environment promotes true development.
Rivers State needs peace in 2015 and beyond. Everybody must not agree with Amaechi in all he does; this does not make them the governor’s enemies and vice versa. My governor needs more friends than enemies especially now that he has political differences with the Presidency, judicial differences with the Supreme Court and traditional differences with Rebisi, his seat of government. Indeed it could be a precarious time that should be handled carefully softly, softly.
Okachikwu Dibia
Abuja, Nigeria
POWER corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely
Your advise to Amaechi is in order but please I need to inform you on one issue. Jonathan will win his election in Rivers State square. APC cannot win the governorship election in Rivers State as things stand today. Some of the people you see in APC will vote for Jonathan and some will cross over to PDP, They are staying with Amaechi now because of the money.
Nnwonda Okachikwu Dibia,
Nkalem ji meka oo.
I have just read your piece which I consider very interesting. I appreciate your concern for the well-being of our dear State vis-a-vis the unnecessarily protracted political face-off between Governor Amaechi and President Jonathan. I verily agree with you that, as long as that face-off continues, it is the State, as opposed to the two gladiators that suffers.
Having said that, I must draw attention to the subjective nature of your judgement – tilting heavily against Amaechi. You seem to have dropped every blame on the causes (both remote and immediate) of the Jonathan/Amaechi face-off at the doorsteps of Amaechi. I think you are wrong in your perception. I would rather hold President Jonathan responsible for the ugly relationship that now exist between him and Governor Amaechi.
Amaechi versus NJC:
On this issue, you said inter alia that, “My interpretation, as a non-lawyer, of the relevant sections of the Constitution is that the governor should appoint whoever NJC recommended to it and the same person should be confirmed by the state’s House of Assembly.” By Okachikwu Dibia.
Let’s refer to the Constitution and see what it exactly states:
270 –
(1) There shall be a High Court for each State of the Federation.
(2) The High Court of a State shall consist of –
(a) a Chief Judge of the State; and
(b) such members of Judges of the High Court as may be prescribed by a Law of the House of Assembly of the State.
271 –
(1) The appointment of a person to the office of Chief Judge of a State shall be made by the Governor of the State on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council subject to confirmation of the appointment by the House of Assembly of the State.
(2) The appointment of a person to the office of a Judge of a High Court of a State shall be made by the Governor of the State acting on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council.
(3) A person shall not be qualified to hold office of a Judge of a High Court of a State unless he is qualified to practice as a legal practitioner in Nigeria and has been so qualified for a period of not less than ten years.
(4) If the office of Chief Judge of a State is vacant or if the person holding the office is for any person unable to perform the functions of the office, then until a person has been appointed to and has assumed the functions of that office, or until the person holding the office has resumed those functions, the Governor of the State shall appoint the most senior Judge of the High Court to perform those functions.
(5) Except on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council an appointment pursuant to subsection (4) of this section shall cease to have effect after expiration of three months from the date of such appointment and the Governor shall not re-appoint a person whose appointment has lapsed.
If you read 271(1) carefully, you will notice that the Constitution gives the Governor – not the NJC the power to appoint the Chief Judge of the state, on the recommendation of the NJC. My understanding of the word “recommendation” is suggestion. And if my understanding is correct, the Governor ipso facto is not bound to accept the recommendation (suggestion) of the NJC. He could reject their recommendation for whatever reasons and ask them to go back to the drawing board to make an alternative recommendation. It is only when the Governor accepts the recommendation of the NJC and appoints the recommended person that the House of Assembly ratifies the appointment.
There is nowhere in the Constitution that says that “the Governor SHOULD appoint whoever the NJC recommended…” Please read it over again.
Sub-section 271(3) of the same Constitution (as excerpted above) even allows a recommendation for a Chief Judge of the State to be made amongst practicing lawyers – not necessarily limiting it to High Court judges, provided such a lawyer has practiced as a legal practitioner in Nigeria for a period not less than 10 years.
Sub-section 271(4) gives the Governor of the State and not the NJC the power to appoint an Acting Chief Judge (for a period not more than three months) who should be the most senior judge of the bench in the event of a vacancy.
In the current imbroglio in our common State, not only is the NJC fixated on their recommendation (suggestion) even when the Governor rejected it, they actually went ahead to APPOINT – not recommend their choice as the substantive CJ of Rivers State. Haba! If that is not acting ultra vires, what else is? Amaechi or anyone could unwittingly flout the law based on wrong advice and be excused, but not when NJC – a body that should be an epitome of Law, rule and regulation flouting the same Law and you go about blaming Amaechi for it. Nyedikne Okachikwu Dibia, I don’t agree with you. Ozeo, ndoo, onweisi, nkwem!
The only area I find Amaechi wanting on this issue is where he failed to ask the NJC to go back to the drawing board and make another recommendation, instead of jumping the gun to appoint a substantive Judge without that element of “recommendation” from the NJC as required by the Constitution.
In all of these, if anything happens to the Rivers State Judiciary, the NJC should be held responsible!
Amaechi versus Rebisi Kingdom:
You did not compare like with like when you said inter alia, that,
“The duty of the state here is to appreciate such peaceful resolution, accept their verdict and recognize whoever they presented to him. Like in the NJC-Rivers State Judiciary case, the kingmakers are the professionals who know far better than the governor who should lead them.” – By Okachikwu Dibia.
Traditional stool is completely a different scenario from the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Whilst I agree absolutely that Governor Amaechi should respect the verdict of the Kingmakers (on the basis of your report though), I totally refuse to see the role of the kingmakers the same as the role of the NJC in the appointment of a state’s Chief Judge.
Amaechi in APC:
You opined inter alia, “Why did Amaechi leave the ruling PDP for APC? According to him, it was because the PDP under Alh. Bamanga Tukur had become too undemocratic. But Tukur is no longer there; so Amaechi could as well go back to PDP. Then the question would be: in whose interest would Amaechi pursue in PDP? Would that interest be different from that which took him to APC?
Nnwonda Okachikwu, are you sure of what you stated above or you are just looking for a way to blame Amaechi at all cost? To the best of my knowledge and belief, those on the loco parentis in PDP in Rivers State, denied Amaechi access to the Party’s structure in the State and finally expelled him and ALL the government functionaries (EXCO, Chairmen and Heads of parastatals, LG Chairmen, etc) and usurped all the powers in the party. In other words, Amaechi governed the State without any party structure. Any wonder 5 out of 32 legislators were given the go ahead to impeach the legitimate Speaker of the House. Did you not hear about this account or you have just forgotten so soon?
Even when the stalwarts of the APC came knocking at Amaechi’s door in PH, did you not read Amaechi telling them that he would hear first from his “brother”, the President?
Nyedikne, so if you were in Amaechi’s position you would wait to be thrown out of your elected office by members of your party with high propensity to haughtiness? Sorry, if I were in Amaechi’s position, I won’t let them destroy my political career for their excitement, whims and caprices. Truth is that they pushed Amaechi to the APC and not what you stated above.
Amaechi versus Jonathan:
You said inter alia that, “A very good political behavior should be borrowed from Ekiti State where Fayose, despite winning the election recognized that Fayemi is still his governor and paid respect to him. This is the respect I need Amaechi to pay to Mr. President and all other things would be added unto Amaechi. I am sure, knowing the kind of person our President is, he will wholeheartedly receive Amaechi and peace will reign in Rivers State and all the other parasitic issues and their champions will fall and fail like pack of cards.” By Okachikwu Dibia
The last time I checked, there has never been a time Amaechi did not recognise Jonathan as his President and indeed brother. So what has Foyose said about Fayemi that Amaechi has not said about Jonathan? Instead Jonathan was he who went ahead to illegally recognise Jonah Jang as the Chairman of the NGF when Amaechi was the one given the mandate by the voting governors, he seized Amaechi’s aircraft and allowed other governors to cruise with theirs, he ceded oil wells belonging to Rivers State to Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom and Abia states, he refused to have any Federal presence in Rivers State despite the huge contribution of the State to the economy of Nigeria – thanks to him for the Polytechnic that he has just recently decided to site in Bonny.
So, Nnwonda Okachikwu Dibia, what other punishment would Rivers State undergo in the hands of President Jonathan in his second coming that it has not undergone in his first term?
As opposed to Amaechi, I roundly and squarely hold Jonathan responsible for the face-off between him and Amaechi.Your headline should have read “Softly, Softly Jonathan”.
Meka, meka, meka!
Emeka Reuben Okala
London, UK
“Faith [Religion] and reason are not necessarily opposed. But when reason won’t take you another step, faith keeps on going because it connects you to God.
My Dear Emeka,
Good day.
I am sorry for the delay in responding to your mail on my article.
Amaechi versus NJC.
I still stand on my position that Amaechi needed to have behind the scene dialogue to reach a consensus with NJC on the matter. If you consider the constitutional provisions for the appointment of either the Chief Justice of Nigeria(CJN) or the Chief Judge of a state, the intention of the law changed from a wholly political issue to a political/professional one. For example in 1963, Section 112(1)stated that the CJN ” shall be appointed by the President, acting in accordance with the advice of the Prime Minister…” It is an advice but the appointment cannot be in disagreement with the advice, that is why it bears a subtle compulsion that the appointment can only be valid if it is based on the advice. So any appointment in this regard that is made outside the advice may be invalid.
But where the law does not want that subtle compulsion, it will state so, like it did in 1979 in Section 211(1): Appointment of the CJN shall be made by the President “in his discretion”… In this case it is clear the law allows the executive to make the appointment without recourse to the judiciary. Another example where the law does not want either advice or recommendation is in the appointment of Acting Chief Judge, and this is clear in Section 271(4) of the 1999 Constitution. But for the substantive Chief Judge of a state, the 1979 Constitution in Section 235(1)provided that “The appointment… shall be made by the governor… on the advice of the State Judicial Service Commission…” So the law here intends subtle compulsion which must be obeyed. In 1999, the law used “recommendation” instead of “advice” and both mean the same thing.The legal meaning of a word may not be the same with its ordinary meaning.
To me the law also intends to ensure that the integrity and independence of the judiciary at the state are sustained, that is why the manager of the judges (NJC) should be in a better position to determine who should be the chief judicial officer of the state, not the politician who may not even be a lawyer. The crux of my suggestion to Amaechi is that if he suspects that the judge to be appointed may not work well with him (despite the fact that he submitted the names to the NJC through the State Judicial Service Commission), it is he(Amaechi) who should go to NJC and lobby/consult with them to get his bidding done. This is an acceptable political behaviour all over the world. On the other hand, if the law intended executive discretion in the appointment, it would have said so; it did not because it did not want appointment to be made without recourse to the NJC. The words “advice” and “recommendation” replaced “discretion” to show that such appointment should not be at the whims of the governor and that was why the law has been consistent in using those words (advice and recommendation.
Amaechi versus Rebisi
My issue was not the comparism but the fact that Amaechi should respect the verdict of the kingmakers.
Amaechi in APC
In Political Science, a politician is supposed to serve common interest, so it does not matter which political party he/she belongs. As an Ikwerre, I am interested in which political party Amaechi belongs because Ikwerre is his primary constituency. I hope he is in APC for the Ikwerre interest, otherwise, Ikwerre may lose out in the future political struggles in Rivers State.
Amaechi versus Jonathan
To enable us understand the issue at stake here, we need to ask ourselves: what is the origin of the problem between Amaechi and Jonthan? In about late 2012, it was alleged that Amaechi’s posters were seen in some parts of Nigeria showing he wants to vie for Vice Presidential position with Sule Lamido as President all in PDP. But Jonathan may be interested in second term and that was why it would have been necessary to quickly consult Jonathan on the matter. Amaechi did not. It was from then we started seeing hostile and undemocratic reactions from the Federal government and PDP against Amaechi. Immediately, I wrote a personal letter to Amaech advising him to sheath his sword and go to the President to deny the posters and do a press conference thereafter. He needed to be smart in an amateur democracy like Nigeria’s. He did not do it. So the Federal govt and PDP continued to make things difficult for him in the PDP.To my understanding, the President is Amaechi’s father in Nigeria’s politics today and it would be foolhardy to step out to challenge him in an amateur political climate like Nigeria’s. Who will lose: Ikwerre and Rivers State. So it is not about apportioning blames, it is about loyalty for the sake of political survival of your people. I bet anybody, APC will not put Ikwerre’s interest on the front burner no matter how much Amaechi gives to them. In Nigerian politics, where you come from is very important, so the Yoruba and Hausas in APC will not protect Ikwerre interest through Amaech. But PDP under Jonathan could be more amenable because Jonathan knows Ikwerre very well: the known devil(PDP) may be better than the unknown angel(APC).
My brother, this is how I see the matters.
Meka, Chineke gozii.
Okachikwu Dibia
+234 (0) 803 3308712
Abuja, Nigeria.