Publicity Secretary of the Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives
Congress (APC), Chris Finebone, in this interview with DAPO FALADE, insists
there was no noble intention behind Governor Nyesom Wike’s visits to the office
of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN). Excerpts:
You alleged that the recent visits of Governor Nyesom Wike to
the Chief Justice of Nigeria was clandestine, how so?
It is not in contention. You must have heard the response of the governor
through his aides. Perhaps you have also heard the CJN’s account of what
happened on the two occasions Wike visited. So, I don’t think it is still
within the realm of speculation. We, the APC, Wike and the CJN have confirmed
that the visits took place. In fact, everybody agrees that he paid the visits,
but [it has not been established] whether he met the CJN or not. I think we
believe the account given by the aides of the CJN; it tallied with what we
have.
The governor’s media aide, Simeon Nwakaudu, claimed his principal’s visits to the CJN had to do with state matters, particularly the re-appointment of the acting Chief Judge and the acting President of the Customary Court of Appeal. Why did you infer that the visits were beyond that?
Yes, they were beyond that,
because he [the governor] himself initially said that one of the reasons he
went there was to thank the CJN for appointing the Chief Judge of Bayelsa State
to swear him in. But his spokesperson played down that admission by the
governor and that has raised some questions. For us, that aspect of Wike’s
response, which came instinctively from him, says so much. What is the
relationship between appointing the chief judge of a state to swear in a
governor and you going to thank him? Is it a personal thing? Is it a personal
favour? It is not a favour; it was an organ of the state doing its work. So,
for us, going to thank the CJN remains curious.
In any case, we do know, and we are saying, that the major reason he
claimed was behind his visits to the CJN is a facade, because we understand how
government works. We do not expect a governor to be a courier or to be
rendering courier service and then be carrying a letter or going with the word
of mouth to discuss the issue of the re-appointment of an acting Chief Judge
and acting President of the Customary Court of Appeal. That is a simple
administrative thing. The governor, when it is necessary, only directs an aide
or even the Attorney-General to raise a memo and send to the National Judicial
Council (NJC) and do follow-ups. I mean, if you know the tenets of government,
the governor should not be running such an errand for himself.
Is there anything wrong in a governor visiting the CJN?
Yes, let us look at the aide of the CJN who said clearly in a publication
that the governor, on a second visit, was intercepted by officers of the
Supreme Court and that after he [the governor] was asked the purpose of his
visit, they [the officers], with all courtesy, told him that it was improper
for him to do that. The judiciary has already said that it was wrong and that
they do not always want visits from governors, especially those who have cases
pending in courts or tribunals.
Again, you specifically said the visit had to do with ongoing
case at the tribunal regarding the governorship election in the state, do you
have any evidence?
Yes, and I repeat that. All it requires to know about somebody is only a
little investigation and then you can make up your mind. The governor of Rivers
State, Chief Nyesom Wike, is somebody who is very comfortable moving around the
corridors of the judiciary. I say this with all sense of responsibility and
respect.
If you cast your mind back to the former Governor Rotimi Amaechi matter,
I am sure you read where he [Wike] claimed that he was the one who did all the
leg work, consulting with judges, bailiffs and all those who matter behind the
scenes in the judiciary. He said openly that he was the one who mid-wifed
everything that made Amaechi governor. We all know that he is good at doing all
those things. But within our judicial system, which is still battling with
credibility problem, if a man is an expert in moving behind the scenes, you can
conclude that most of the things he does behind the scenes are not noble; they
are questionable.
Again, you will remember the role he played in the taking away of the
structure of state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from former Governor
Amaechi. So, with all these antecedents of the governor [Wike], when he goes
around the judiciary corridors, any reasonable person should be wary of that.
You don’t expect that we will say all that we know in the public domain, but I
can tell you that his reason for personally going around to talk with the CJN
was nothing noble.
Since you said that Governor Wike went behind the scene to do
‘leg work’ for former Governor Amaechi, will you not agree this might be
payback time; that he [Wike] might be paying back his former boss in his own
coin?
There is no justification for wrongdoing. The leg work he did, he alone
is claiming the glory. If he did them right, the glory will remain his. If he
did good things in a wrong way, it is also his. Now, payback time in terms of
what? Nobody sent him. Nobody would have sent him. For example, if I say ‘go,
get me the car key outside the gate,’ and you go and bring me the key, I don’t
know whether you went to the gate and paid somebody to get the key. I don’t know
whether you got to the gate and sent some other person to get the key. For me,
you chose to go and get the key. I do not see how I should be held responsible
for what you did out of your own volition to achieve the purpose of bringing
the key, which is legal. But you can go and get the key in an illegal way,
outside of my knowledge. I should not be held accountable for that. So, I do
not see how this should be payback time.
It appears that you are afraid that the governor may thwart
or influence the outcome of the petition at the tribunal...
No, no, no. If you know the antics of a man and you are in contest with
that man and begin to see a semblance of what he easily resorts to or what
amounts to his character, you will be wary, but that would not amount to fear.
It is about self-preservation. I don’t want to allow this person to have his
way because I know how much evil he can do and so I have to checkmate him and
let the world know that he is up to his game again, which may negatively affect
the outcome of what we have on hand. So, it would be stupid of me to keep quiet
and watch a man I am in contest with repeat his negative antics.
If you nurse no such fear, what are the chances of your party
at the tribunal?
If you check the way applications are being made by both parties, you
will see that it is only one side that does not want the matter to go on and
that is PDP and Wike. There is only one side that is introducing delay tactics
of all types. It is PDP and Nyesom Wike. There is only one side that is
introducing all kinds of unimportant motions and it is them. There is only one
side that wants the matter to move on and that is APC. For example, if you say
you won an election and I said ‘no, I should have won it but you stole it’ and
I am asked how and I said, ‘okay, by the time we see the process or see the
materials, we will determine whether you really won it or I won it,’ why are
you worried? Why should Wike be worried that I want an independent umpire to
look into the materials used for the election? Why did it take him so long to
argue that we should not be given access to look at the materials?
This would take you straight to the Solomon judgment in the Bible about
the baby and two women. If you won the election and you are convinced that you
won it, you should not wait for me to ask that we look at the materials. Wike
made so much effort, through his lawyers, to argue and insist, even when court
granted an ex parte that we should have access to the materials. All kinds of
collaborations among the [Independent National Electoral Commission] INEC, PDP
and Wike and their lawyers had been made to make sure that we did not have the
access. But the question is: why? You say you won an election then you should
be the first to be willing to allow an inspection of the materials. So, this
says a lot; it gives you an unspoken answer.
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