The Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, has disclosed that the state government would set up a judicial panel of inquiry to investigate how the affairs of governance were conducted in the state before he assumed office. Fubara spoke while swearing in Dagogo Iboroma, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, as the new Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice of the state at Government House in Port Harcourt.....Read The Full Story Here ▶
The Governor told Iboroma that he brought him in as the Attorney-General at this time, noting that the moment was critical in the governance of the state.
He stressed that the state at the time had a lot of legal matters that needed to be tackled with bravery and courage, pleading that the new Attorney General should not fail the state.
Fubara said, “So, my brother, Dagogo Iboroma, you are going to be the brand-new Attorney General of our dear State. SSG, give him his letter; he is the Attorney General.
“Why are we bringing you at this very critical time? We have a lot of issues around us. We believe that you are not going to be the one that when they send service to you, you go and file “nolle prosequi” or you go and file one thing that would kill us here.
“Let me also say this, you have a big task. We will be setting up a judicial panel of inquiry to investigate the affairs of governance. So, brace up, I am not going back on it.
“Please, defend us. We know that you are going to defend us because your record is clean. You are a gentleman and peaceful. You are not a noise maker. People like you are endowed, and they have the fear of God.”
He reiterated that though he thought the political crisis he considered as a problem within a family would have been resolved but regretted that there had been no headway out of it.
Fubara said though it was unfortunate that his administration has moved forward because there is now a well-constituted State House of Assembly to discharge legislative duties, and a seasoned lawyer appointed as the Attorney General of the state.
“I am happy that this is happening today to mark the beginning of a new era in our administration.
“When I said that I had a reason for being patient, it is because I know that we are all from one family. And if we have a disagreement, no matter how bad it is, it should be resolved amicably.
“But it has become very clear that this disagreement, there is no way to resolve it amicably. And for a lot of reasons, there is visible evidence that there is sabotage, deliberate attempt to sabotage this administration.
“For that reason, we have to move forward. And, moving forward, if it means taking decisions that are going to hurt anybody, we are not going back on the protection of the interest of Rivers people.”
Fubara further took the former Attorney General, Prof. Zaccheaus Adangor, to the cleaners, stating that he indulged in sabotaging the same administration he was serving.
“It is good that you were already a SAN before your appointment. This means that you’re a very thorough lawyer and have earned your appointment. Not like the one we had here, who while in office, they went to pay money to get SAN. When you become a SAN, the only thing you will do is to sabotage the government.
“Instead of you closing your mouth, you go publicly to claim that you are a learned person. But go publicly to tell people that you were the Chief Law Officer.
“Chief Law Officer? You were here and you went to stand before a magistrate court. At that time, you didn’t remember that you were a Chief Law Officer, going against the ethics of your job. Like I said, you will get your reward, not in the next world, but in this world.”
However, a strong ally of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Emmanuel Deeyah, has stated that the move by the governor of the state is needless and self-destructive.
Deeyah, who represented Khana/Gokana Federal Constituency at the National Assembly, reminded the governor that he was part of the same administration he was targeting to probe, noting that the red ink will get dried one day.
“It is needless. It is a self-destruct strategy. He functioned prominently in that government. Even his signature was on most of the transactions the government carried out.
“I think this decision is also because of the lack of in-depth knowledge and understanding of the government. He was part of that government as Accountant General and Permanent Secretary. But if he feels that it is the best way to go, so be it.
“He should know that; the red biro will one day run dry. One day, that office that he is occupying will end and the wheel of justice drives slowly, but eventually, surely justice will be served.
“He feels that the probe will affect the minister. He should know that there is a procedure to probe. He should not think that he is the master. I am not surprised because of the kind of thing they are doing in the state right now where members who are under suspension will gather and go to a court that everyone knows does not have the jurisdiction to talk about the members of the state House assembly. I am not surprised if he wants to do that.