Defend judiciary to prevent dictatorship, Wike urges Nigerians

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has called on Nigerians to
support the independence of the judiciary to prevent dictatorship
in the country.

Wike lamented that it would be difficult for any judge to stand
firm and give judgment against the interest of the Federal
Government.

The governor, who made this remark during an interactive session
with lawyers in Port Harcourt, said, “Today, it will be difficult
for any judge to stand firm and give judgement against the interest
of the Federal Government. They use propaganda to mislead the
public on the activities of the judges.

“If this democracy must survive, there must be support for the
total independence of the judiciary. When the judiciary collapses,
there will be full-scale dictatorship. Thereafter, the Federal
Government will start chasing people around.”

A former president of the Nigerian Bar Association, Chief Onueze
Okocha, SAN, lauded Wike for fulfilling his pledges in his first
term.

He announced the endorsement of Wike for a second term, urging
him to uplift legal practice in the state.

Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, Port Harcourt branch,
Mr Sylvester Adaka, described the tenure of the governor as a
period of abundance, adding that lawyers in the state were looking
forward to a more fulfilling second term for the governor.

Speaking on behalf of academic lawyers, the Dean of Faculty of
Law of Rivers State University, Prof. Ovunda Okene, expressed
happiness that the governor had improved the law faculty, which led
to the full accreditation of the school’s law programme.

Joseph Belem of Young Lawyers Forum stated that young legal
practitioners had endorsed Wike’s re-election because the governor
had carried them along and created avenues for them to grow in the
profession.

Secretary of the Legal Cluster of Rivers Professionals for Wike,
Prince Nyekwere, told the governor that there were 26,000
professionals across the state mobilising the people for his
re-election.