The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, said on Wednesday the declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State was a “compromise” to prevent the impeachment of Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Prof. Ngozi Odu, by the state House of Assembly.
Fagbemi disclosed this to State House Correspondents after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu in Abuja.
The president had on Tuesday declared a state of emergency in the oil-rich state.
He also suspended the governor, his deputy, and members of the Assembly for six months.
President Tinubu had since appointed a former chief of naval staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Étè Ibas (retd) as the state’s sole administrator.
The AGF said: “Don’t forget there was a notice of impeachment from the House of Assembly. If that impeachment had been allowed to take its full course, then the governor would have lost entirely and completely.
“So, in a way, if you say it’s a compromise, I will agree.
“If the impeachment process had continued, in the end, would have seen both the governor and the deputy governor out of office for the remainder of the four-year term.”
Fagbemi recalled that things had not been going on well in Rivers State since 2023.
He added: “Don’t forget the role of the House of Assembly.
“They are the lawmakers, they are to consider budget, they are to pass budget, they are also to be approached in matters of appointment of commissioners for ratification and all other things; they are to do oversight functions.
“Since that happened, things have not been the same at all. In a community of 32, you expect that at least 15 or 16 will be there to do the job.
“The governor constituted about three or four of the members into the House of Assembly, gave them preferential treatment, and moved them to the Government House to perform legislative functions.
“He knew that the House of Assembly is a critical organ to do that, so he brought down the House of Assembly.
“There was no effort to rebuild the House of Assembly after 14 months. The government stands on a tripod: the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary.
“He made the functioning of government impossible. It is not enough for the executive to say we are spending money. Even the money you want to spend must have been appropriated for by the House of Assembly.”
He said the Supreme Court came to a decision that the behaviour of the governor was like a despot, and that there was no government in Rivers.
“What further evidence do we need? So, the stage was set, but no action was taken immediately in the expectation or hope that good sense would prevail.
“It was expected that the governor would create an enabling environment and that the House of Assembly too would be reasonable enough to ensure that the people of Rivers enjoyed dividends of democracy.
“We are in a democracy. There was, what I would call telegraphing of the militants by the governor, and the reason I said so was when he beckoned to them that he would let them know when it was time to act,” said Fagbemi.
`
