‘Wike Led Us Into This Crisis Yet Faces No Consequence’ – Alban Nwapa

Alban Unoma Nwapa, a popular Nigerian artist, has criticized President Bola Tinubu for excluding the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, from the sentence imposed on Rivers State Governor Sim Fubara, his deputy, and House of Assembly members.

The political situation in Rivers State reportedly prompted Tinubu to declare a state of emergency and suspend Fubara for six months.
Nwapa told journalists in Abuja that Tinubu should have brought Wike to order instead of declaring a state of emergency.

Nwapa, who ruled the airwaves with his distinct style of music from the late 1990s to the 2000s, said that Tinubu lacked the constitutional authority to remove Fubara and his deputy.
He also emphasized the financial ramifications of proclaiming a state of emergency, claiming that it wastes government money.

According to the musician, Tinubu’s actions set a poor precedent for Nigeria’s democracy.

He stated, “And to think that this man, Fubara, was democratically chosen by the people while the other person is only a minister, with no electoral worth in his own state of roughly 2 million eligible voters or more!

“And the most frustrating thing is that he has not been made to share in the punishment meted out to Fubara.

“In reality, no one has mentioned his name. His name was not mentioned by the Supreme Court, the Senate, the President, or anybody else! It’s terribly sad.

“Oh, my response is simple: the President should’ve called Wike to order rather than declaring a State of Emergency on Rivers.

“Calling Wike to order would’ve been the reasonable thing to do because he is the reason we got ourselves into this problem in the first place! The declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers has completely devastated the state’s democratic framework. It has mocked the entire democratic process.

“You suspended both the governor and his deputy, even though you lacked the constitutional authority to do so.

“Will the State House of Assembly also stop functioning for the next six months? Come on, this is crazy. Imposing a state of emergency is costly and inefficient.

“Of course, the money belongs to the taxpayers! So, calling Wike to order is far less expensive than making the foolish decision to declare a state of emergency. But, putting aside the financial implications, the severe harm it has caused to Rivers state’s democratic structure is what is most devastating. It is irritating. They will need a long time to recover from this setback.

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“It’s like setting a dangerous precedent because now all other governors should expect anything to happen to them at any time.

“One morning, the President can simply wake up and decide he no longer likes the face of a specific governor, and then suspend him from office!” Is that the type of country we live in now?

And this National Assembly, na wa! It’s insane how people vote with their voices! Yes, I know they do a lot of odd stuff, but this one really shocked me. I was shaken.

“We know they do a lot of unthinkable things, but this voice vote to determine two-thirds is daylight robbery.”

“It stunned and startled me that they had the nerve to do this. A state with millions of eligible voters, and they do this?

“Then they didn’t care if there were any consequences to their actions. The aspect that confuses me is the voice voting; how can you decide two-thirds using voice voting? “This is insane.