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- Berates NBA, Falana over calls to release arrested Rivers APC lawyers
From Tony John, Port Harcourt
Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has declared that he would not support any moves by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to produce the president of the 10th National Assembly.
Governor Wike has also criticized the President of Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Yakubu Maikyau, and renowned human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, for their calls for the release of the three legal representatives of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State.
The governor spoke during a live media chat at his private residence in Rumueprikom, Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state, on Tuesday.
He said it would be a distraction for the new president of the country from APC to have the Senate or House of Representatives president or speaker respectively from his party (PDP).
According to the Rivers State governor, if such a plan is allowed, it would threaten the cohesion between the executive and legislative arms of the government.
Wike stated that the elected members of the National Assembly from Rivers State will not support any plot by PDP to produce the 10th Senate President.
On the arrested APC lawyers, Governor Wike said police should be allowed to carry out their investigation without interference from any quarters.
It would be recalled that the three APC lawyers were reportedly arrested on Saturday, April 1, 2023, at a hotel in the state, where they were said to be working on a petition for candidates of the APC in the March 18 governorship and House of Assembly elections.
The NBA president had condemned the arrest, while Falana appealed to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Baba, to order the release of the lawyers.
During the chat, Wike said: “There is nothing wrong if you have intelligence that people are producing INEC documents in a hotel and in the police arresting them.
“What we expected is for the police to investigate, were they really printing INEC documents or not? And not for people to say, ‘They went and arrested lawyers that were preparing for election petitions.’”
The governor argued: “Does it mean because you say lawyers perpetrated it, therefore, they cannot be arrested? Of course, I don’t take Femi Falana seriously. NBA president issued a statement that the lawyers must be released. It was so surprising.
“Why not say, ‘Police, if you say you arrested lawyers believing that you have intelligence on this, we’re giving you within 24 hours to make sure they are charged to court or you come out with a report?”
The governor cautioned that NBA should not think that it would use Rivers State to gain popularity, with the bad leadership of its president.
He continued: “You can’t use us to be popular among lawyers because the NBA president knows that his own administration is not doing well. And so, the only way they can show that they are doing well is by coming out to say, ‘release the lawyers’.”
