Unless President Bola Tinubu rein in on the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, the political turmoil that has engulfed Rivers State will continue to fester.
Leading journalist and public analyst, Mahmud Jega, said this when he featured an on Arise TV programme, on Wednesday.
The political conundrum in the oil-rich state climaxed on Tuesday night, leading to the declaration of a state of emergency by the president.
But according to Jega, Wike who is Fubara’s predecessor and estranged godfather, is key to the creation and perpetuation of the political crisis rocking the state, and unless something is done about that, the problem will never be resolved.
“And as to whether this will solve the problem in Rivers State, I don’t think so because as was pointed out, just as the President enumerated the misdeeds of Governor Fubara, he should have also said a few things about the minister of the FCT who is actually very central to the creation and perpetration of this problem.
“Is it normal in law or politics that somebody as godfather will sit down in Abuja and begin factionalising the House of Assembly causing all kinds of problem in a state that he once governed”
“Unless something is done about that, then the problem in Rivers State will not be solved before 2027”, he stated.
Jega said he expects PDP governors to head to the Supreme Court to test the president’s action.
“The problem at hand, first of all, is the legality of the declaration and in particular the suspension of democracy structures has to be clarified.
“And what I suspect could happen is that some PDP controlled states are likely to go to the Supreme Court very quickly being a matter between the states and federal government to test the legality of the declaration. If the Apex Court is consistent with its 2018 judgement, it is likely to strike down that part of the declaration which removed constitutional structures”.