By Chinelo Obogo
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Coalition, a nongovernmental organisation (NGO) affiliated to the party, has called on the judiciary to maintain impartiality in the ongoing political crisis in Rivers State.
This follows the recent judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which directed the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) to stop releasing statutory monthly allocation to Rivers State due to the defection of some of the state’s lawmakers to an opposition party.
The National Coordinator of the PDP Coalition, Dr. Emeka Kalu, in a statement, yesterday, said that the court’s decision could plunge the state into more difficulties, adding that the situation must be handled with caution to save the state from being plunged into more confusion.
Kalu said the judiciary is the last hope of the common man and cannot afford to throw its integrity into the wind, stressing that it needs to protect its independence by working to avoid being politically purchased to harm democratic processes and the ethics of law.
His words: “Law has a process and once it is violated, its penalty takes effect. As stated in section 109 (I) of the 1999 Constitution, it is clear that the embattled 27 Rivers State lawmakers that defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) lost their seats and the business of the government must not be halted simply because such vacuum was created.
“Nigeria is currently experiencing economic hardship and if urgent steps are not taken to address the situation, crimes would continue to escalate as frustrated citizens resort to available means to make both ends meet.”
Kalu emphasised that governor Fubara committed no crime to have chosen to serve the people of Rivers State, as their governor and that it behooves the judiciary to revamp democracy through its demonstration of services of integrity and respect for social justice.
Kalu insisted that the embattled lawmakers contravened the provisions of the law when they abandoned the political party that sponsored their elections into the State Assembly.
“Fubara’s administration has continuously succeeded in positively impacting Rivers people that it even approved N85,000 minimum wage for workers, despite the state of the nation. His government should be emulated rather than being hunted for no justifiable reasons,” Kalu said.
