Mr Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyeson Wike, has advised human rights lawyer Femi Falana (SAN) against misleading his clients.
During an interview on national television, Falana said that the Supreme Court’s decision on the Rivers crisis had nothing to do with who was the true speaker of the Rivers Assembly.
Falana made the comments while discussing the difficulties surrounding the Supreme Court-determined defection of 27 House of Assembly members.
In response, Olayinka said in an Abuja statement on Monday that Justice Emmanuel Obile of the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt, dismissed the Labour Party’s action against the claimed detection based on the Supreme Court judgement.
He noted that Justice Obike rejected the suit on the grounds that the Supreme Court’s decision had resolved the issue of defection.
“But Falana went on television to misrepresent what happened to his client: that the Supreme Court didn’t rule on the defection.
“The same Falana said three members of the Rivers House of Assembly can carry out legislative functions despite the provision of Section 96(1) of the 1999 Constitution, which provides that the quorum of a House of Assembly shall be one-third of all the members of the House.’
The official also criticised Falana’s notion that “only those who have handled cases in trial court or appellate court are lawyers”.
Olayinka also found Falana’s position that a lawyer must have handled matters in trial or appellate court to be suitable for selection as a Life Bencher “funny and ridiculous”.
He noted that Wike was admitted to the Body of Benchers solely on the basis of his merit, having made significant contributions to legal education.
“As Governor of Rivers, Wike was instrumental in the establishment and infrastructural development of the campus of the Nigerian Law School in Port Harcourt, adjudged the best centre for legal education in Nigeria.
“Wike also played major roles in the development of facilities at the Yenagoa campus of the Nigerian Law School by constructing a state-of-the-art 1,500-capacity hall and 200-bed male and female hostels, among other interventions.
“Now as FCT minister, Wike is constructing a 10-unit housing quarters for the Nigerian Law School, Bwari, Abuja.
“He has also provided operational vehicles to the school to improve its operation,” he said.
