An Ijaw leader and chieftain of the Pan-Niger Delta Forum, Chief Anabs Sara-Igbe, has warned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu about the ongoing crisis triggered by the fall-out between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his former estranged godfather and predecessor, Nyesom Wike.
Sara-Igbe accused the president of supporting Wike, the FCT Minister in his fight against the governor, warning of reaction from Ijaw and Niger Delta youths.
“The people of Niger Delta are aggrieved with the way Mr President has given support to Wike against the Governor of Rivers State. The Ijaw nation is sad and the Ijaw youths are not also happy.
“We do not want Rivers State to be the boiling pot of Nigeria. That is why we are saying justice must be retained and we must have confidence in the judiciary otherwise we are inviting anarchy. Rivers State is the seat of the Nigeria oil and gas.
“Mr President should wake up and stop the nonsense that is going on. The people of Rivers State will react and the people of the Niger Delta will react and the Ijaw nation will react appropriately.”
He was reacting to the recent judgment by an Abuja Federal High Court judgment directing the Federal Government to stop Rivers State’s allocation over the passage of the 2024 Appropriation act of the state government.
Sara-Igbe blamed former Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike for the crisis roiling the state, stating that the people of the region are unhappy with the support he is getting from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Justice Joyce Abdulmalik granted an order for the stoppage of further allocation to the state, in a suit filed by the Rivers State House of Assembly led by Martins Amaewhule, who has been confirmed as the authentic Speaker.
A court had earlier ruled illegal the 2024 appropriate bill presented by Governor Siminalayi to and passed by a four-member Assembly led by Hon Victor Oko-Jumbo, paving the way for Justice Abdumalik’s judgment.
However, Chief Sara-Igbe, in a video conference he provided to our reporter, described the judgment as a “shame to the judiciary”, adding that the “judge was determined to be the hatchet person.”
“Judiciary was the hope of the common man and they are to interpret the law. But since this administration, the judiciary is not interested in interpreting the law as it is; they are interested in technicalities.
“There is no truth in Nigeria; it is now to the highest bidder.”
He queried the hearing of the state’s cases in Abuja, despite the presence of competent courts in the state to handle such matters, hinting that it could be because “somebody has paid them, build houses and roads for them.”
Sara-Igbe warned that the judiciary could truncate Nigeria’s democracy with conflicting judgments and rulings. He said Nigerians are getting fed up with the antics of judges and wondered why President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had not done anything about it.
