Eminent South-South leaders, lawyers, and activists have advised the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, Nyesom Wike and the Governor of Rivers State, Sim Fubara, to give up their self-importance and end the power tussle, which is already taking a toll on the people of the state.

A South-South leader and convener of the South-South Reawakening Group, Elder Joseph Ambakederimo, minority rights activist and lawyer, Amaebi Clarkson, chairman of the Civil Liberties Organization, CLO, Bayelsa, David West, and others who spoke to our reporters, said the disagreement has lingered for too long, and now is the time to settle it.

Now is the time to settle squabble ? Ambakederimo, S-South elder

Ambakederimo asserted: ?The issues playing out in Rivers State is unfortunately dragging on for too long, and if left unchecked may lead to something untoward that could have a spiral effect on the polity.?

?Now is the best time for the two dramatis personae to resolve what is left of the crisis. Only the two can decide if they want to resolve the issues between themselves and if they genuinely love the state as they claim.

?The judgment delivered by the trial judge is based on what was brought before the court, no one can fault the judgment as held for now until the judgment is adjudicated upon by a superior court (the Appeal Court) if approached by the Rivers State Government.

?We should not cry more than the bereaved, who in this case is the Rivers State Government. The state government knows what to do, therefore, the law should take its course until otherwise obtained.?

Rivers people in anguish ? Ota, Warri-based lawyer

Warri-based lawyer in Delta State, Kennedy Ota, stated: ?Basically, the use of such a restraining order is to compel a party to do what the applicant wants or what seems to flow in the direction of justice.?

?The order made by the Judge of the Federal High is in good faith, in as much as the applicants were able to convince the court why it should be granted, particularly if it is done in the interest of justice.

?But it will amount to an abuse of the court process if the object, motivation, and effectual outcomes are not just or in tandem with justice.

?As we all know, justice is a two-way thing, if a party seeks justice in the leverage of a restraining order, and it is granted by the judge bonafide, it is justice for the applicant, but if otherwise, it is injustice for the other party.

?Currently, the power play between Wike and Fubara is not in the interest of Rivers State. It is common knowledge that when two elephants fight the grass suffers. In this case, the people suffer from the power play between these two political titans.

?Commentators and political analysts have accused ex-governor Wike of being overbearing and of godfatherism. That position is biased, because if Wike is guilty of political godfatherism, then Fubara is also guilty of not being a patriot or a good compatriot by refusing to be a political godson.

?When Nyesom Wike imposed him over other gubernatorial gladiators in the state, he did not say it was unethical for him to emerge from a warped and whimsically packaged party primaries. Now, Fubara is trying to condemn the ladder that brought him to power, which is not just and truthful on his part to cry foul now.

?Rather, he should place a premium on the development of the state. He who comes to equity must come with clean hands. Fubara walked into the Government House wearing soiled shoes.

?He should have rejected the shoes of godfatherism from the onset. My appeal to both of them is that they should forget about their bloated ego and relieve the people of Rivers of the inevitable negative outcomes of their power tussle.

?So that Rivers State can move forward they should purge themselves, forgive each other, and assimilate the fall ego in their respective selves.?

Anarchy looms ? Clarkson, lawyer

Clarkson opined that, ?The judgment has further deepened the Rivers crisis. Did the judge not contemplate the aggregate effect it would have on the people of Rivers State? The House of Assembly should impeach the governor if he breached any provision of the constitution, not stop the state from getting its legitimate funds from federal allocation like every other state in the federation.

?What happens to the financial and contractual obligations of Rivers State? The judgment was planned to shut down governance in Rivers State and ground all government activities. This in my mind is a call to anarchy in the state.?

Judgment foreshadows lawlessness ?Alaowei, a legal practitioner

Chairman, Board of Trustees, Centre for Human Rights and Anti-Corruption, (CHURAC), Alaowei, Cleric Ebikonbowei, Esq., posited: ?I think this is a judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction. The aggrieved parties should appeal to the Court of Appeal. That is the only way out for now.?

?So bad that we have taken our political brinkmanship to the level where governance has been consigned to the dustbin; this judgment only portends that the people of Rivers State should be prevented from enjoying the dividends of democracy.

?This is more like an invitation to anarchy. It is an affront to constitutional democracy; a situation whose result may spell doom to our democracy.

?Decision of the court in this regard ought to conform to public policy, morality, and safety. The court should look beyond the litigants in the matter and see the bigger picture.

?A judgment ought not to be given to suspend the operation of government in any tier of the government. Even the Supreme Court has affirmed this position in the case of Lagos State against the Federal Government. ?

Rivers people should take over their state ? West, Bayelsa CLO chair

Bayelsa CLO chair, David West, said: ?The judgment of the federal high court that the allocation of the local government be halted is worrisome looking at the circumstance surrounding the coming of the judgment, the trouble between Wike and Fubara. For me, Wike has already made up his mind and is bent on doing everything humanly possible to frustrate the administration of Fubara.

?Unknown to him, that frustration is not just on Gov Fubara as a person, it is beyond him. We are looking at Rivers State people, one day, we will wake up from our slumber and hear that the federal government has stopped Rivers State allocation, relying on the court ruling.

?I do not question the rationale behind my lord who gave the judgment or ruling as the case may be. The arguments canvassed before the court determine it. However, my lord would not have ruled that allocation should not be given to a democratically elected local government chairman, even if how the election was conducted is questionable.

?The point where the two characters are is a point of no return, a point of no reconciliation, so I cannot say I want to facilitate a process of reconciliation, nobody will do that again, it is just left for nature to take its course, that is how I look at it.

?But we, as Rivers State people, must rise up and take over the state and leadership of Rivers State for ourselves. That is what Rivers people must do, and this can only be done through advocacy, Rivers people must begin to talk because they say a closed mouth is a closed destiny.?

INEC should conduct polls to fill vacant assembly seats ? Emmanson, A-Ibom pipeline boss

Coordinator of Gas Pipeline Host Communities in Akwa Ibom State, Comrade Kufre Emmanson, frowned at the federal high court judgment restraining the federal government from releasing monthly allocation to the Rivers State government, following a suit by a faction of the state House of Assembly.

?What is happening in Rivers State is purely political. Unfortunately, people no longer see the judiciary as an independent arm of government. Politicians now control it and it is playing out in Rivers State.

?The local government election in Rivers State was conducted in line with the Supreme Court judgment, but a lower court delivered judgment, saying that the federal government should stop monthly allocation going to Rivers state government.

?The judiciary is supposed to be the last hope of the common man but what we see in this country today is that it is used against the common man. So for us, it is political and condemnable?

?According to the constitution, when you win an election and later defect to another party, you will lose your seat. Therefore, in the case of Rivers State, as those 27 state lawmakers defected and are making problems, INEC should conduct an election to fill the vacant seats to resolve the acrimony.? (Vanguard)

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