Defending Rivers Interest In An Era Of Toxic Politics

When Governor Nyesom Ezenwo Wike assumed office on the 29th of May, 2015, he made it clear that he would defend the interest of Rivers State and its people by every legitimate means available, no matter whose ox is gored. Repeatedly, he has assured Rivers people that he will not renege on his promise to protect what belongs to them.
For a governor whose political party is not at the helm of affairs at the federal level taking such altruistic stance may be given political colouration, but Governor Wike is not a man who shies away from controversies when he is convinced that the inalienable rights of his people are trampled upon for no justifiable reason.
Governor Wike believes that every son and daughter of Rivers State deserve his government’s attention and protection, irrespective of their creed, tribe and political affiliation. To place this in proper perspective was an ugly incident which occured on July 16, 2020, when the Port Harcourt residence of a former Managing Director of Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Ms Joy Nunieh, was beseiged by armed police men who wanted to arrest her at the wee hours of the morning.
Nunieh, a card-carrying member of All Progressives Congress, APC, sent a distress call to Governor Wike of People’s Democratic Party, PDP, to come to her rescue. Matching his words with action, the governor who, by the virtue of his office, is the father of the state, dashed to Nunieh’s residence with his aides to stop her traducers from effecting their motive. And to guarantee her safety, he rode with her in his official car to Government House where she took refuge for some time.
Narrating her ordeal to newsmen, Nunieh said “They (security operatives) came to take me away, I said for what? Do they have a warrant of arrest. They said no warrant of arrest.
“About 6 a.m. they broke the gate and later Senator Magnus Abe now called me that he had reached the Commissioner of Police who said he didn’t know anything about it (the arrest).
“I got through the governor. So, my governor came, asked them for their warrant of arrest and why they did not invite me to the police, that I will come, instead of going to take a woman like a criminal.
“So, the governor took me in his car and here I am refuging in Government House.
“I want to thank His Excellency for keeping to his word that nothing should happen to the daughter of Rivers State”.
Another incident where the governor demonstrated his unwavering commitment to the protection of Rivers indigenes was during the COVID 19 lock down.
The Rivers State Government had ordered the arrest of two pilots of Caverton Helicopter and passengers because the company failed to provide the affected persons for tests by the state’s health authorities.
Their arrest and detention caused rift between the state and federal governments, with the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, saying “Governor Wike acted illegally because the workers have been authorised by federal government to fly into Port Harcourt on a national assignment”.
Explaining the position of the Rivers State, the immediate past Commissioner for Information and Communications, Pastor Paulinus Nsirim, said: “Contrary to the view bring peddled by the Minister of Aviation, Alhaji Hadi Sirika, the two pilots of Caverton Helicopter and their 10 passengers were not arrested because they operated a permit granted them by the Ministry of Aviation. They were arrested because they constantly contravened the Executive Order issued by the Governor of Rivers State, His Excellency, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, which requires that everyone coming into the state for essential duties should subject themselves to mandatory health checks to ascertain their Corona virus status.
“The Rivers State Government under the leadership of His Excellency, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, remains committed to the protection of over six millions citizens of the state. We are not struggling to issue landing permit to airlines, neither are we contending for the control of the airspace. Therefore, the issue on ground has nothing to do with the Exclusive List.
“The focus of the Rivers State Government is to ensure that nobody under the guise of transporting workers on essential services, ferries in persons who will compromise our health system”.
Governor Wike also took a commendable step in defence of the constitutional right of the state when the Rivers State Government through the State Assembly enacted Rivers State Value Added Tax No.4, 2021 which makes it a legitimate right of the Rivers State Government to collect VAT.
In a state broadcast following the judgement of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt which dismissed an application by Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) for a stay of execution on the matter, the governor explained that what the Rivers State Government had done was to contribute to the advancement of fiscal federation.
He said that the Rivers State Government did no wrong in exercising it’s legal right under the country’s constitutional democracy to stop the continuing breach, denial and curtailment of constitutional rights of states.
He said it was wrong for FIRS to impose and collect VAT and other related taxes within the jurisdiction of Rivers State.
“For us in Rivers State, we will continue to ensure and project our constitutional rights to access all possible resources we can take hold both within and outside our geographical boundaries to advance the progress of our state.
Although the Federal High Court judgment is being challenged at the Court of Appeal, public affairs analysists have lauded Governor Wike for rising to the occasion in defence of the constitutional rights of the state.
A former Deputy Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof. Kingsley Moghalu said: “ The Federal High Court ruling on VAT is the correct one, though we can expect litigation all the way to the Supreme Court. It strikes a strong blow at the lazy Federal Government whose head once called youth ‘lazy’.
“Nigeria has long been a fiscally failed state. Why should states in a supposed federation be producing mainly for the Federal Government? Restructuring has already begun, by fire by force. I pity those who think they can stop the wind”.
The Rivers State Government under leadership of Governor Wike had also instituted a suit against the Bayelsa State Government at the Federal High Court in Abuja over Soku oil wells and got judgement in its favour.
Dissatisfied with the court ruling that the oils be ceded to Rivers State, the Bayelsa State Government approached the Supreme Court to set aside the High Court verdict. But the Supreme Court struck out the suit brought to it by the Bayelsa State Government and explained that it lacked the powers to exercise jurisdiction over a case relating to the judgement of a High Court, in respect of which the Court of Appeal had not made a pronouncement.
It held that it would amount to abuse of judicial process for Bayelsa State to jump the Court of Appeal in its bid to set aside the High Court judgment.
Hailing the judgement, the Amayanabo of Opukula in Akuku-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State, King Hope Dan Opusingi, said the Court verdict had confirmed Governor Nyesom Wike as a defender of the inheritance of the Kula people in particular and Rivers State at large.
He explained the boundary dispute which had lasted a long period of years had ceded more than 60 percent of Kula’s territory to Bayelsa State and thanked Governor Wike for his determination in reclaiming the Soku oil wells.
Recently, the Rivers State Government again triumphed at the Supreme Court over the ownership of the 17 oil wells in Ndoni and Egbema communities, thus terminating the political arrangement on sharing revenues from the facilities.
There was a political trade-off put in place by the former Governors Peter Odili of Rivers State and Achike Udenwa of Imo State in 1999 to ensure revenues from the disputed oil wells were rationed equally before the two states. However, when Emeka Ihedioha became the governor of Imo State in 2019, he instigated a presidential memo that ordered all incomes would have to be paid to Imo State.
He also requested that Rivers State should refund the N15 billion received as royalty from the disputed oil wells to Imo State.
Expectedly, the Rivers State Government swiftly filed a suit against the presidential directive and got a decisive judgement at the Supreme Court.
Commenting on the court judgment, Governor Wike explained the state was in court with neighbouring Imo State, not to claim victory, but to defend the ownership rights of oil wells in Akri and Mbede communities.
“It bears repeating that the quest to defend our ownership rights through the courts over Akri and Mbede oil wells not intended to claim victory over Imo State or any other state.
“In order to actualise the spurious claims, he (Ihedioha) stealthily wrote a letter dated August 9, 2019, to President Muhammadu Buhari and requested the refund of 15 billion naira from Rivers State to Imo State as backlog of proceeds from the 13 percent derivation revenue of the oil wells.
“Acting on Ihedioha’s letter, the President warranted a letter to be written to the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) through the late Chief of Staff, Mr Abba Kyari, to alter the status quo in favour of Imo State without reference to the substituting dispute and agreement between two states”, Governor Wike said.
The court agreed with Rivers State that the correct instruments, map and documents to be relied upon in determining the boundary between Rivers and Imo States were those used by Rivers State in delineating the boundary line between the two states, including Decree 14 of 1967, Decree 12 of 1976, the White Papers/Conclusion of the Federal Military Government on the Irekefe and Nasir Boundary Commission/Boundary Adjustment Commission, the Eastern Nigeria Map, the Map of Owerri, Warri Province, Onitsha and Rivers Provinces as well as the Ahoada District Map and Aboh Division Map.
Since he assumed office as the Governor of Rivers State, Chief Wike has been resolute, consistent and irrepressible in defending the interest of the state in the face of formidable challenges. He has also kept faith with his mandate.
Certainly, posterity will be kind to him as he soldiers on to deliver good governance to Rivers people and other Nigerians who are resident in Rivers State. So far, so good.

By: Reward Akwu