Wike: Emergency rule enabled LGs in Rivers to access funds from federation account

Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), says the emergency rule declared in Rivers state ensured that LGs accessed funds from the federation account.

Speaking during a media parley in Abuja on Monday, Wike said President Bola Tinubu acted within the law when he declared a state of emergency in Rivers following the expiration of the tenure of elected LG officials.

“People say the declaration of emergency was illegal — how many of them have pursued the matter in court till today?” he asked.

“Filing a matter for people to say we have filed a matter does not mean they want to pursue the matter. It’s to play to the gallery.”

The former Rivers governor said it was his team that secured a supreme court judgement affirming that emergency rule can override some legal provisions.

He explained that the supreme court had ruled that no governor can appoint a caretaker committee and that where there are no LGS, such councils cannot access the federation account.

“Because of emergency rule, that judgement was set aside to allow local governments access to funds, and that’s why they appointed sole administrators in the councils,” he said.

He said Tinubu relied on the Emergency Powers Act, as modified by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2004, to issue regulations enabling the electoral commission in Rivers to conduct LG elections in June.

According to Wike, the regulation gave 90 days for elections to be held to ensure that LG structures are in place before the emergency rule is lifted.

“If you don’t do that election now, if the governor comes, the governor will give notice of one year, by the supreme court judgement, and when you give notice of one year, you cannot set up a caretaker committee, and you cannot have access to the federation account—what happens to the local government?” he queried.

Wike added that the president does not intend to extend the emergency rule; hence, the urgency to conduct elections and avoid a governance vacuum.

The minister also took a swipe at former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar over his recent defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the African Democratic Congress (ADC).