President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would not sack the Minister of FCT, Nyesom Wike, because of the sentiments being expressed in different quarters on the Rivers crisis.
The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, disclosed this on Wednesday, while addressing a press conference on the development in Rivers State.
Prompt News reports that President Tinubu, while addressing the nation on Tuesday night, declared a State of Emergency in the oil-rich state.
Consequently, he suspended governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy as well as members of the House of Assembly.
He also appointed a retired Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibokette Ibas as the Sole Administrator for six months.
However, many Nigerians opine that the President should have sacked the FCT Minister being a key figure in the political crisis rocking Rivers State since 2023.
But, the AGF defended the President’s decsion not to sack Minister Wike, insisting that only the suspended governor was indicted by the Supreme Court judgement.
Fagbemi noted that 11 of 12 findings by the Supreme Court were against the governor, querying “What sentiments are we bringing on this matter?”
He spoke further, “Where do you put the Minister of FCT in this case? Was he the one who asked for the demolition of the House of Assembly?
“Was he the one who said the governor should not present his budget to the House of Assembly? Was he the one who advised the governor not to go through the House of Assembly to ratify the commissioner-nominees? I don’t know.
“Because if you want to look at a case, you look at the facts presented. The Supreme Court made these critical findings. The FCT minister did not feature.
“Look, I will encourage you to read that judgment of the Supreme Court. There were about 11 of 12 findings against the governor. What sentiments are we bringing on this matter? There isn’t any sentiment.
“These are some of the findings that the Supreme Court made. And at the end of the day, the Supreme Court said, or came to a decision, that the governor’s behaviour was like a despot, and that as the situation was, there was no government in Rivers. If there was no government in Rivers, what would we be looking for?
“If the National Assembly feels that the President has not done well, then you won’t have the two-thirds majority required to validate his action.
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