Well-known Nigerian artist Alban Unoma Nwapa has criticized President Bola Tinubu for not including Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), in the sanctions imposed on Rivers State Governor Sim Fubara, his deputy, and members of the House of Assembly.
According to reports, Tinubu suspended Fubara for six months and declared a state of emergency as a result of the political unrest in Rivers State.
Nwapa told reporters in Abuja that instead of announcing a state of emergency, Tinubu ought to have summoned Wike to order.
Nwapa, whose distinctive style of music dominated the airwaves from the late 1990s to the 2000s, bemoaned Tinubu’s lack of constitutional authority to suspend Fubara and his deputy.
He also emphasized that proclaiming a state of emergency wastes government money and highlighted its financial ramifications.
“Tinubu’s action sets a bad precedent for Nigeria’s democracy,” the singer continued.
And to think that one man, Fubara, was democratically chosen by the people, while the other is merely a minister with no electoral importance in his own state, which has at least two million eligible voters,” he remarked.
And what irritates me is that he hasn’t been forced to take some of the blame for Fubara’s sentence.
Actually, no one has brought up his name. His name was not mentioned by the Supreme Court, the Senate, the President, or anyone on the planet! It’s quite depressing.
“Well, my response to that is straightforward: instead of declaring a State of Emergency on Rivers, the President ought to have summoned Wike to order.
Given that Wike is the primary cause of this entire situation, calling him to order would have been the prudent course of action. Declaring a state of emergency in Rivers has completely destroyed the state’s democratic system. It has made fun of the democratic environment as a whole.
“Despite lacking the constitutional authority to do so, you suspended the governor and his deputy.
“Will the State House of Assembly also be shut down for the next six months? Please, this is ridiculous. Not to mention how inefficient it is to force the state into a state of emergency.
“Obviously, tax payers’ money! Therefore, calling Wike to order is far less expensive than making this irrational State of Emergency declaration. Even if we ignore the financial implications, what is distressing is the significant harm it has caused to Rivers State’s democratic system. It irritates me. They’ll need a long time to bounce back from this setback.
It’s akin to creating a negative precedent since it implies that all other governors should now anticipate that anything could happen to them at any time.
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“The President can just decide one morning that he no longer likes a certain governor’s appearance and then remove him from office! Is that the type of nation we currently inhabit?
“And we have this National Assembly! Voting by voice is insane! Yes, I am aware that they do a lot of strange things, but this one really got to me. I was shaken by it.
“We are aware that they commit many unimaginable acts, but it is daylight robbery to use a voice vote to decide 2/3.
“That they have the gall to do this astounded and surprised me.” A state with millions of eligible voters, yet they engaged in such behavior?
And they didn’t even give a damn if their actions had any repercussions. I don’t understand the voice vote component; how is two thirds determined by voice voting? This is insane.
