The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has stated that President Bola Tinubu does not want to extend the emergency rule in Rivers State.
Wike disclosed this during a media chat on Monday while speaking extensively on the legality of the Rivers State emergency rule and local government elections scheduled for August 30.
He asserted that extending the emergency rule would not benefit the people of Rivers State.
Naijaonpoint reports that Tinubu had suspended Governor Sim Fubara of Rivers State for six months after declaring a state of emergency.
Wike said: “The President, in his wisdom to bring peace and restore democratic governance in local government, came again with another regulation, which was in July, that this election must be conducted within 30 days, because the President, from my understanding, does not want to extend the emergency rule.
“Extending the emergency rule will not be palatable to the people but then if you don’t do local government election and leave the emergency rule, how will local governments now access funds?
“And when the governor can’t appoint a caretaker committee based on Supreme Court judgment and they can’t get money, is that not crisis?
The President said we don’t want this crisis again, while you are here conduct this election so that there will be democratic structure in the local government and as this emergency rule is being lifted, the governor comes, the Assembly comes and they take care of the state.
“If they don’t do that election now and the governor comes, he will give notice of one year by the Supreme Court judgment and when you give such notice, you can’t set up a committee and they can’t have access to the Federation Account so what happens to the local government?
“Emergency rule allows the President to make regulations and modify aspects of the law and that is what he has done by suspending some aspect of the electoral act of 2022 which he has the power.”
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