Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, has insisted that the resolution to deregonise Celestine Omehia as a former governor of the state is far from politics.
Wike said the signing of the motion was an executive action founded on the resolution of the state House of Assembly during its plenary on Thursday.
The governor disclosed this on Friday at the Government House, Port Harcourt, he signed a legal instrument into law de-recognising Omehia as the former governor of the state.
The document was presented to him by the State Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice, Prof. Zacchaeus Adangor.
Wike said the recognition of Omehia by the 32-member legislature in 2015 violated an extant Supreme Court judgment that ousted Omehia as governor in the eyes of the law in 2007.
In a statement by the media aide to the governor, Kelvin Ebiri, Wike said, “Yesterday, I received a resolution from the Assembly de-recognising Celestine Omehia, who had enjoyed the privileges of a former governor of the state.
“But you will recollect that sometime in 2007/2008, my predecessor, His Excellency Chibuike Amaechi did not recognise Celestine Omehia as a former governor of the state.
“When we came on board, there were issues and the Assembly felt that having served as governor, he should enjoy the status of a former governor.
“I’ve always respected the resolutions of the Assembly. I’ve never for one day disagreed with anything the Assembly has sent to me.”
Wike said the reversal of the decision of the leader of the Rivers State House of Assembly was on the strength of the information available to them in 2022.
He pointed to the reasons adduced by the leader of the House that the strength of the information they have now had compel them to reverse what they did in 2015.
According to him, “The leader of the house said they have better facts and what are the facts? The facts are the Supreme Court judgment categorically stated that Sir Celestine Omehia was never a governor, because he never stood for any election and that it will be inappropriate for their (assembly) legacy that they didn’t respect the judgement of the Supreme Court.
“In this part of our country, people will praise you when it suits them, but when you do the uncommon thing, people will not praise you.”
He explained that rumours making the rounds that Omehia was derecognised because he had ceased to be his ally, and was now a member of the presidential campaign council of the Peoples Democratic Party, was untrue.
Wike noted that people needed to keep politics away from what had been done, urging them to get a copy of the Supreme Court judgment and understand that it is the right thing to derecognise Omehia in the eye of the law.
“I had to call the Attorney General for him to give me his legal opinion as regards the resolution of the Assembly, and rightly the Attorney General said they (assembly) are right.
“That in the first instance, the recognition was extra-judicial, that the Assembly has no power to change the judgment of any court, not to talk about the Supreme Court. So, people should understand and not to begin to play politics,” he stated.
