The
last may not have been heard about the political crisis in Rivers
State. The election in that state was adjudged one of the most
controversial by both local and international observer groups. After all
the violence and acrimony, calm may not be in sight yet. Not soon.
There
are those who felt that all the commotion came to an end with the
controversial emergence of Chief Nyesom Wike of the Peoples Democratic
Party. Although the rival All Progressives Congress has challenged the
result of the polls in the state election petitions tribunal, there is
yet another dimension to the brouhaha.
The
planned swearing-in of the governor-elect come May 29 may not happen as
smoothly as expected. Unless things take a different turn, the statutory
judicial officers empowered by the constitution to administer the oath
of office may not be available to do so. This is because the appointment
of the current Chief Judge of the state, Justice P.C. Agumagu, is a
subject of litigation and until the pending cases are resolved, he or
any other person cannot perform such a function.
Now, let us
take a glimpse at the complexity of the issues at stake. The appointment
of the Chief Judge of a state is a constitutional issue and under the
1999 Constitution, four institutions are involved, namely: The Judicial
Service Commission, the National Judicial Council, the Governor and the
state House of Assembly. When the immediate past Chief Judge of Rivers
State retired on August 20, 2013, Agumagu was appointed in an acting
capacity and later duly sworn in as the substantive Chief Judge.
However, the National Judicial Council kicked against his appointment
citing reasons of seniority and later suspended him as a judicial
officer on March 26, 2014. That suspension is also a subject of another
litigation.
Let us assume for the sake of argument that the
issues raised by the National Judicial Council are valid. It is possible
that the Governor of Rivers State in performing his duties innocently
but inadvertently did not follow due process. Even if Agumagu is not the
most senior judge in the state as claimed by the NJC, no one can say so
until it is determined by a court of competent jurisdiction. Even if
the NJC decides to reverse the suspension of Agumagu, as a judicial
officer, he or anyone will not be able to perform any duty under the law
until all the outstanding court cases are resolved. It therefore means
in my view that Agumagu remains the Chief Judge of Rivers State even
though he is under suspension currently. The central issue here is that
no other individual can be appointed to take his position until these
matters in court are sorted out.
With the handover date just by
the corner, there is a clear stalemate starring Rivers people in the
face. The outgoing Governor of Rivers State, Chibuike Amaechi, has
publicly expressed his disposition to a smooth transition and handover.
However, the situation is not as simple as it looks. He may not be able
to do this successfully in the midst of these legal landmines. Who will
swear in the incoming governor into office? Some opinion leaders suggest
that a Chief Judge from another state can be specially invited to
perform the oath administration on the incoming governor. Others insist
that the office of a Chief Judge is a clear jurisdictional issue. That
is to say that such a role is limited to a particular jurisdiction. For
instance, when someone is appointed as a Chief Judge of Anambra State,
as soon as he crosses over from Uli in Anambra State to Mgbidi in Imo
State, he cannot perform such a role. At best, such persons can function
as a village chief not as a judicial officer.
With these
realities on the table, it is important that supporters of the incoming
government and those of the outgoing government must come to some form
of agreement to explore a way out of this logjam. I have heard that the
PDP led incoming government is contemplating invoking a sort of doctrine
of necessity. But who will do so? Is it the state House of Assembly
that is currently dominated by members of the ruling APC? Will the
National Assembly intervene as it did during the failed impeachment
effort? Will the incoming PDP leaders in the state simply break into the
Government House? What will be the response of the incoming
administration?
It seems that Rivers State will be in the
spotlight again in the coming weeks as what looks like a constitutional
crisis looms. No one knows how things will turn out but what is certain
is that this may be the first test on the President-elect, Muhammadu
Buhari. Will he have the courage to protect the constitution against any
form of abuse? In case an action is taken in Rivers State that runs
contrary to the stipulations of the constitution, will the
President-elect declare a state of emergency in Rivers? Will the
Independent National Electoral Commission conduct a fresh election? What
are the implications of all of these on the ordinary people in Rivers
State and the already fragile security situation in the state? Was this
path of convoluted legal fireworks avoidable? Is this a case of a
poisoned chalice of Wike starring him on the face? Many observers are
curious how the events will turn out. We can only watch from the
sidelines.
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