Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi has exonerated the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, of being the reason for the crisis in Rivers State.
Fagbemi made this statement while addressing State House correspondents in Abuja on Wednesday
Following Mr Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in the state, Nigerians accused Tinubu of taking sides with Mr Wike.
However, Mr Fagbemi exonerated Mr Wike of misconduct, insisting that Mr Tinubu’s intervention in the crisis was timely and well-advised.
His words,“Where do you put the Minister of FCT (Wike) in this case? Was he the one who asked for the demolition of the House of Assembly? Was he the one who said the governor shouldn’t present the budget to the House Assembly? I don’t see his hand here.”
“We are about two years into this administration. Now, when do you think the President should have intervened? Should he have waited until everything was destroyed? I don’t think so,” Mr Fagbemi said.
The minister further said that Mr Tinubu’s decision was rather a subtle political compromise taken to prevent Mr Siminalayi Fubara from losing completely in the state through impeachment.
He stated, “There was a notice of impeachment from the House of Assembly. If that impeachment had been allowed to run its full course, then the governor (Fubara) would have lost entirely and completely. So, in a way, if you say it’s a compromise, I would agree.”
