Don\u2019t set Rivers on fire, Atiku warns Judiciary<\/p>\n
Former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar has cautioned the judiciary against acts capable of setting Rivers State on fire.<\/p>\n
He gave the words of caution in the wake of Wednesday\u2019s judgment wherein a Federal High Court in Abuja, ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to halt all payments to the state.<\/p>\n
In a statement signed on his behalf by his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe, Atiku said it was appalling that \u201csome elements loyal to the Federal Government were pulling the strings from behind\u201d the scenes.<\/p>\n
He wondered why Justice Joyce Abdulmalik issued the order when it was public knowledge that Rivers State had already challenged the Court of Appeal\u2019s judgment on the legality of Rivers State\u2019s 2024 budget.<\/p>\n
The statement quoted Atiku as saying , \u201cLast week, the Court of Appeal declared that the Rivers State budget was illegal because it was passed by an inchoate assembly. The court ordered Governor Siminalayi Fubara to present the budget afresh.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe Rivers State Government has already filed a notice of appeal so that the Supreme Court can hear the matter.<\/p>\n
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\u201cHowever, some elements in the Bola Tinubu administration have procured a judgement intended to undermine the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n
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\u201cEven before the judgment was delivered, legal luminary, Femi Falana (SAN) had alerted the Chief Justice of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho of possible compromise after house gifts had been presented to judges in Abuja. Sadly, Falana\u2019s warning was ignored.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Atiku hailed the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, for summoning judges sitting on the Rivers State cases.<\/p>\n
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He, however, appealed to the nation\u2019s top judge to ensure that those found wanting are disciplined in order to restore the fading glory of the judiciary.<\/p>\n
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The former Vice President further said, \u201cNigeria has descended into the theatre of the absurd since the Tinubu administration took office.<\/p>\n
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\u201cCourts are playing a more ignoble role in fostering political crises within political parties and even in states.<\/p>\n
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\u201cFrom the emirship tussle in Kano State to the Rivers imbroglio where courts are going as far as preventing elections from holding, taking Nigeria back to the dark days of June 12, 1993 where polls were annulled.<\/p>\n
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\u201cSadly, under the leadership of those who claim to have fought for Nigeria\u2019s democracy, the country is descending into chaos with conflicting orders from courts of coordinate jurisdiction flying all over the place while judges are being induced in the name of empowerment and provision of houses.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe result is that Nigerians are gradually losing confidence in an institution which prides itself as the last hope of the common man. Foreign investors will avoid any place where judgments can be bought by the highest bidder.<\/p>\n
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\u201cNigeria should not descend to the Hobessian state of nature where life is short, nasty and brutish, where citizens opt for self-help. Rivers State accounts for almost 25% of Nigeria\u2019s oil assets.<\/p>\n
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\u201cFor a country facing an economic crisis worsened by vandalism and banditry, Tinubu should put his 2027 ambition aside and put Nigeria\u2019s interest first.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe call on the Nigerian judiciary to restore its image before it gets too late.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Don\u2019t set Rivers on fire, Atiku warns Judiciary Former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubakar has cautioned the judiciary against acts capable of setting Rivers State on fire. He gave the words of caution in the wake of Wednesday\u2019s judgment wherein a Federal High Court in Abuja, ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":144824,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,18],"tags":[649,82,750,39],"class_list":["post-145334","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-featured","category-news","tag-atiku","tag-fubara","tag-rivers","tag-wike"],"yoast_head":"\n