Rivers political crisis total misfortune, requires political solution— Okupe
A former Presidential Spokesperson, Dr Doyin Okupe, on Sunday described the political crisis in Rivers as “total misfortune”, saying the leadership crisis in the state requires a political solution.
Okupe, a former Director-General of the Labour Party (LP) Presidential Campaign Council made this remark in an interview with newsmen in Lagos.
Rivers is engulfed in a political crisis over a power tussle between Gov. Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor, Mr Nyesom Wike, who is now the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The rift has polarised the State House of Assembly with lawmakers loyal to both political gladiators electing different Speakers to lead the House.
Lawmakers loyal to Wike recently dumped the ruling PDP to join APC, while a couple of commissioners loyal to the minister have quit Fubara’s cabinet.
Reacting, Okupe said: “That is a total misfortune, and the real issue, if we look at it properly, is that we do not obey our laws. if only we obey our laws, this situation cannot surface at all.
“The courts has to help, the judiciary must be consistent, fair and judge according to law not any other sentiment ”
Declining to comment on personalities in the crisis, the 72-old Okupe said that since personalities were temporary figures, the real issues must be addressed from the source.
“Let us all obey our laws and our rules and let the court adjudicate according to law and anybody who flout the law should pay for it.
“The way things are going in Rivers is a national calamity right now but a political solution is what I will suggest as a very experienced politician,” he said.
Advocating political solution as the answer, the former National Publicity Secretary of the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC), said that since the crisis was about interest, political solution remained the answer.
He said: “In all my years of politics, I have never seen anything in this world that a political solution cannot resolve in all political disagreements.
“Politics is about interest- What is the interest of A and what is the interest of B and how can we marry them? That’s is all.”
Recall that renewed tensions engulfed the oil-rich state on June 17 when the tenure of the 23 local government chairmen and councillors expired.
While the chairmen who were mostly loyalists of Wike, attempted to continue in office beyond their three-year mandate, Fubara and his supporters dislodged them.
In the ensuing confrontations between rival supporters, a police officer, and a vigilante member were killed at Eberi-Omuma in Omuma LG secretariat.
The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja on Thursday vacated the order that sacked 25 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly who defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The appellate court, in a unanimous decision by a three-man panel of Justices, held that the Rivers State High Court, which issued the order, lacked the requisite jurisdiction to do so.
