{OPINION} Why Tinubu cannot withhold Rivers LG funds over “Fubara’s conduct”

By ABANIKANDA OLUMORO

So, let anyone who genuinely loves the President tell him to stop all the drama that his camp is involved in across the country except they believe and are telling Nigerian people that there is anyone who is bigger than the country.

There is no need for Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)’s Voters Register because SIEC (State) is not reportable to INEC (Federal). There can be cooperation, which enables SIEC easy access to data of voters but that can only happen once as SIEC can on its own update the register in its database.

Nonetheless, in the case at hand, Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) displayed Voters Register that had been available to it from INEC on the order of Rivers State High Court, needless to mention that those who did not want to loose political power control went to use another high court at the federal level to counter the existing order of state high court. They wanted INEC to conduct the state LG elections but where would INEC claim it got its right or power to interfere in LG elections from? Now all the good works being done with bad intentions, God is exposing them.

A particular member of the legal community has, however, faulted this thought as expressed somewhere before now, but it is my opinion and it will remain my opinion until court of competent jurisdiction rules otherwise.  It has never happened even before I left Nigeria that Federal Government conducts elections into the Local Governments administrations.

With due respect, President Bola Tinubu, an All Progressives Congress (APC) president having taken over from APC President Muhammadu Buhari, had no reason to have gone to the Supreme Court in the first place before ensuring LG Autonomy, which his predecessor did with the constitutional powers he had of Executive Order. Buhari not only gave autonomy to LGAs but also to Judiciary. Because Tinubu’s Lagos allegedly sabotaged the implementation in a country that political buyover of media, judiciary and legislature is daily alleged, it did not work in Lagos State and once Lagos is sick, the whole country is sick. Sadly and unfortunately, that was the allegation that is yet to be denied.

Now, you have gone to Supreme Court. That, to me and some of the fellow Nigerians home and here in the Diaspora who agree with me, was considered a show-off. Even at that, your Lagos was the first to reconstitute Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC). What were you thinking about? Now, you cannot even easily implement the judgment because you are planning, despite the pre-occupation of the work of the Office of the President, to find a way to bring all the LGAs in Nigeria under the Federal Government, an indication of failure to have learnt from the past. That is my thinking.

General Aguiyi-Ironsi thought his tribe of Eastern Region would rule Nigeria forever, being that the most senior military officer was from there, and so he changed the Nigerian structure from Federal to Unitary system thus bringing the hitherto independent Regions under the Government at the Centre. Today everybody is regretting it and Yoruba race, where Tinubu comes from, is blaming the North for not effecting a devolution to return powers from the centre to states (as regionalism is now gone forever) so State Police can be possible.

And my question to fellow Yoruba people back home in Nigeria has been, if you were the Northerners, after conquering such calculated systemic coup against a country where you have the largest size in terms of demography and geography, would you have returned the powers from the centre that you now control, both militarily and democratically? No. And you are not even being diplomatic and logical enough in negotiating with this Northern influence, you are resorting to all sorts of blackmail – all the anti-Hausa-Fulani mantra and the involvement in the media project that tends to separate Hausa, Fulani and Middle-Belters and set them against one another in a way that could lead to implosion in Northern Nigeria. All the things about Yoruba Nation or Oduduwa Republic, Fulani herdmenism,and so on.

But they did something with the 1999 Constitution as extracted from 1979 Constitution, near what we had wanted, State (as federating unit) now derives its powers from the same Constitution where Federal Government derives its, there is state High Court, state Assembly with exception of the military, police, immigration, customs and prison services. Same way LGA derives its power from the Constitution with its legislature and court with the exceptions listed in the case of state. But, in the thinking of many of us, Tinubu as it looks now wants to bring the Local Governments under Federal control because he is there. Some would say he can only be there for eight years a most, but others say he is implementing his Lagos strategy where though he officially left power in 2007 but continues to rule the state till today.

People sit in the comfort of their rooms and see Tinubu pocketting the National Assembly, Judiciary and even tactically the media, but because they are benefitting either for mere satisfaction of ethnic representation or crumbs dropping on their hands (so sad), they can abuse anybody at will and wouldn’t like to be countered. These same people, who complained against the unitarisation of Nigerian ruling system by Aguiyi-Ironsi, are now jumping up seeing the thing happening and are celebrating it. This is the reason some of us believe that tribalism and religion will never let Nigeria see development although both are acts of God that cannot be blamed for the complexity of problems that the country has faced but the people themselves. Whereas the scripture underscores the importance of loving and defending one’s nation, God (especially in Islam) cautions against tribalism and there is no contribution that religion makes to destroying Nigeria except that people mischievously hide under it to mislead people and, in the case of Nigeria, people vulnerably fall for them because they are inclined more to deception.

Otherwise, Pius Ade Babaleye Pab, who wrote the article titled, “FUBARA’S GAMBLE: LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS WITHOUT INEC’S VOTERS REGISTER”, should not have done so. He only expressed that sentiment denigrating the new political power that Governor Siminalayi Fubara has been able to attain in Rivers State because of cheer unpatriotic ethnic sentiment of ‘Omo Wa Ni E Je O See’, and that of ‘Our own son can never do wrong’ syndrome. Very sad.

Babaleye said in his article that, “The Supreme Court has firmly stated that funds meant for local governments cannot be disbursed to unelected officials. Fubara may have to share state funds with his handpicked chairmen, effectively governing these local governments without federal recognition.”

He added, “Such a decision would not only isolate these local governments from Federal support but also put immense pressure on the state’s finances. By taking this gamble, Fubara may be sending a message that he is willing to operate outside conventional norms, relying solely on his state resources. The long-term consequences could, however, be managing both for his administration and the local governments themselves.”

These were submissions of that fellow Yoruba South West Nigerian, named Pius Ade Babaleye Pab to whom that article published in The DEFENDER is credited. But I can only simplify my response to him by saying, “Sir, you are wrong.”

Wrong because he set out to openly show incapacity resulting from his inability to grow above ethnic sentiment and politically motivated public opinion that should be the better rescue for the already disappointed Nigerians, home and abroad. Obviously, his article put him out as a Nigerian, who is either being pushed by ethnic sentiment of “Tinubu is our tribe man” or is himself a media agent hired to write things to shape public opinion with intent to let Nigerians reason with all the shenanigans going on across Nigeria simply because of 2027 and accept them as right and correct. But he is wrong and I will explain.

First, Fubara is not the only Nigerian state governor that has conducted Local Governments elections since after the Supreme Court ruling granting autonomy to the Local Governments. In fact the day Rivers State was conducting these LGA elections, they were about four states doing it in the country including Akwa Ibom State. Immediately after the court ruling, Delta did, no qualms. Lagos State, claimed to be the base of the President that took the 36 states’ governors to Supreme Court over the LGA autonomy, recently reconstituted Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) with members from outside the indigeneship of Lagos State amidst cries of marginalisation, usurpation, deprivation and “genocide by immigration” coming from the Lagos State indigenes and land owners against non-indigenes’ capture of their constitutionally granted State, since the return of democracy in 1999. These are fellow Yoruba people, who have their own states of Ondo, Ekiti, Oyo, Osun and Ogun where no non-indigene can be allowed or tolerated to occupy political power even as small as of councillor talk less of non-indigenes being Governor, Deputy Governor, Speaker and others.

Now, after the reconstitution of LASIEC, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, a known fellow non-indigene, will now conduct Local Governments elections in 2025 with the non-indigenes occupying the LASIEC. What does that mean? It means two things to me: The same thing Tinubu allowed his controlled police to thwart though unsuccessfully in Rivers, the Federal police will gladly support, encourage and even, as we have always witnessed, support elections riggers to subvert and undermine the constitutional rights of Lagos indigenes to elect their own political leaders from among themselves. Two, he will be conducting elections of LGAs leaders not by INEC but LASIEC and in the end, Federal allocations will be released to his principal’s handpicked LGAs elected leaders.

Secondly, how can Babaleye call the 23 newly sworn-in Chairmen of Rivers State ‘handpicked’ persons if he is sincere? One, you are a Yoruba man of South West. If the law and democracy are about people and people’s rights to power of their own place, and the people of Rivers State decided on Saturday October 5, 2024 who their leaders at the grassroots level would be and you, from far away South West Yoruba Land are now crying foul, you deserve to be investigated for attempting to foment trouble and disturb the peace of the land.

And, thirdly, you are indirectly suggesting to your political master in power in Abuja that those LGA Chairmen sworn in on Sunday October 6 by Governor Fubara are “unelected officials” and that he should, therefore, not disburse Federal allocation that is due to them to the LGAs but allow Fubara to share his own state allocation with them. These are scandalous, malicious and mischievous suggestions smacking of ignorance that are ostensibly orchestrated in a grand plan to justify implementation of that illegality against Rivers State LGAs. It cannot work and Tinubu should be told by his Attorney General and lawyers that if he withholds LGA funds of Rivers State on the excuse of untrue claim that the October 5 LGA elections are non-elections, that action will not be regarded as official decision but personalised standing and, after office, he can be made to face the consequences for such constitutional breach.

Furthermore, for attempting to cause disturbances to democracy and holding the Rivers State grassroots people back from electing their leaders through the same election system used by grassroots people of Akwa Ibom, home state of the Senate President, God’swill Akpabio, and other places, all partakers in such act are entitled to punishment by law including judges found to be guilty of allowing themselves to truncate democratic process by kangaroo judgment, orders and injunctions – although whatever court orders Nyesom Wike thought his camp had secured against the Rivers State elections were vacated.

The current Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and Chairman of the National Judicial Council (NJC) should save the country and the judiciary by being himself and not allowing these unethical and anti-democratic behaviours of politicians continue. This is important because everyone involved will be remembered in the future history of the respective institutions that people look up to but meet disappointment. Governor Fubara has breached no law regarding LGA elections as President Tinubu himself and his controlled National Assembly have not even finished their plans about how to implement the Supreme Court judgment granting autonomy to the Local Governments. If Fubara will be guilty in the court of Tinubu and APC, then Sanwo-Olu and others who have either started the LGA elections process or have concluded same should lead in the punishment, whether now or in the future.

The author said, “Governor Fubara’s readiness to proceed without legal recognition reflects either a calculated risk or a disregard for the rule of law. Either way, if he goes ahead with this, it will be a historic move—though whether for better or worse remains to be seen.”

Looking at this, there is no risk anywhere in the actions the governor had taken because, even when action of the Wike’s camp using a Federal High Court in Abuja to counter existing ruling of Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt is considered wrong and kangaroo by nature, Governor Fubara despite having the right to ignore still ensured due vacation of the wrong order. So, where did Pius Ade Babaleye Pab get his “without legal recognition” from if he was actually writing or talking from the viewpoint of knowledge and intellectualism?

He said, “Bravo, Fubara, for your boldness. But the question remains: Will this gamble pay off, or will it prove costly in the end? Only time will tell.” I will take my concluding message from this part with which he concluded his article by telling him and anyone who believes or agrees with him that Fubara never played any gamble let alone that the question of whether it will pay off or prove costly in the end does not exist.

Finally, those who are suggesting that Tinubu should withhold Rivers State LG funds because of this Tinubu/Wike orchestrated drama should be helped before they plunge themselves and their political masters they seek to impress in a state of confusion for offending the law and people of Nigeria. Helping them will be by reminder that not even President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has the powers to stop the Rivers LG funds from flowing or being released to them as at when due because the Supreme Court has since ruled against withholding LGA funds for whatever reason and Tinubu was the first –  and so far – beneficiary of that apex court judgment, even when President Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR, had genuine and lawful reason to withhold Lagos State LGA funds under him. Obasanjo said the Constitution recognises 20 Local Governments in Lagos State but that Tinubu had 57 local governments (LCDAs inclusive) and so could not release funds meant for 20 LGAs to 57.

So, let anyone who genuinely loves the President tell him to stop all the drama that his camp is involved in across the country except they believe and are telling Nigerian people that there is anyone who is bigger than the country. All that is certain is that, if Tinubu or Wike or Abdullahi Umar Ganduje or God’swill Akpabio among other players in the current 2027-motivated game cooks food for all Nigerians, the food will be exhaustively consumed. But if all Nigerians cook food any of them, he cannot finish it. Half a word, the adage says, is enough for the wise.

*Abanikanda Olumoro is regular editorial contributor on Nigerian public affairs analysis from United Kingdom.

Note that views expressed here are strictly the opinions of the authors and not of The DEFENDER.