Rivers LP Petitions IGP, Others Over Wike’s Executive Orders

By – Memoye Oghu (Port Harcourt)

The Labour Party (LP) in Rivers State has petitioned the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Baba Alkali and others over Governor Nyesom Wike’s Executive Orders 21 and 22 which many in the state have described as draconian.

Comrade Beatrice Itubo, the party’s governorship candidate in the state made the disclosure on Tuesday while speaking to newsmen in her residence in Port Harcourt, the state capital. She pointed out that the state governor was infringing on the constitutional and political rights of Rivers people as enshrined in the country’s groundnorm of 1999 as amended.

The party’s petition dated 28 November, 2022, captioned “Threat to peace and truncation of democracy in Rivers State by the Rivers State government”, cited sections 1, 38 and 43 of Nigeria’s 1999 constitution as amended in detailing out the excesses of the governor in the promulgation of the executive orders.

The petition was also forwarded to the United States of America (USA) Embassy, the British High Commissioner as well as the European Union Ambassador, all in Nigeria.

Others copied in the petition included the Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari; Chairman, National Peace Committee; President of the Senate; Speaker, House of Representatives; Chief of Defence Staff and the Director of the Directorate of State Security (DSS), appealing for their quick intervention.

The petition, signed by its Lawyer, Dr C. A. J. Chinwo, in its opening paragraph said, “We have been briefed and instructed by the Labour Party in Rivers State to bring the following to your attention and to humbly implore you to use your usual good offices to intervene to ensure peace and equal playing field for all participants in the democratic field in Rivers State.”

The petition went on to state that Gov Wike, who is not contesting election into any office in the state or country has embarked on series of activities that contravenes provisions of our constitution and other laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, including the Electoral Act, 2022.

“The Governor, in apparent bid to reserve the field of contest for his protege and chosen preferred successor has been doing everything he can to shut out others . . . Making series of very provocative, unreasonable and glaringly unconstitutional executive orders which are undisguisedly aimed at frustrating political parties from having access to the people of the state by way of campaigns.

“These are the Executive Order 22, 2022, prohibiting the use of premises and structures of public educational institutions for public political rallies without permission; and Executive Order 22, prohibiting the use of private premises for political party offices, meetings, campaign offices etc without permission by the state government.

“Order 22 is in very clear breach of the rights of citizens of Nigeria to own and use their private immovable properties without let or hindrance pursuant to section 43 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

The governorship hopeful vowed that she and her supporters would resist the dictatorial tendencies of the state governor within the confines of the law because, according to her, “Gov Wike can’t take Rivers people for a ride.”

It would be recalled that shortly after the government’s promulgation of the draconian executive orders, the state Urban Development Ministry issued notices to some political parties in the state, including the Labour Party that their state offices or secretariates contravened Executive Order 22 and advised them to relocate within seven days or have them sealed by the state government.