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DARIYE MUST RETURN
�Sagay, other SANs insist as plot to extend emergency thickens
�He�s coming back on Nov. 19 as Plateau governor �Solomon Lar
Jude Owuamanam (Jos), Emeka Madunagu and Olayinka Oyebode
Even as the plot to prevent Plateau State governor, Chief Joshua Dariye, from returning to office thickens, former chief executive of the state, Chief Solomon Lar, on Thursday assured that the suspended governor would return to office on November 19.
Lar spoke in a telephone interview with Saturday Punch from Abuja as the groundswell of support for Dariye�s return continues to rise, with three Senior Advocates insisting that he must return to office.
Asked how realistic that would be, he replied: �Why not? It is not how realistic. He is coming back on November 19. I mean, you know the constitution. The emergency was for six months and it terminates on November 18. So, what else? He is coming back to be the governor of Plateau State on November 19.�
When our correspondent put it to the elderstatesman that there were insinuations that this might not work, he said: �Whatever you are hearing, it is not constitutional and legal. The position of the law is that after the emergency rule, he will take over. And you know that his suspension was illegal, which is being challenged in the court of law. But, that is not what we are talking about. He is coming back on the 19th of November as the governor of Plateau State.�
Meanwhile, the former president of Nigerian Bar Association, Chief Wole Olanipekun, declared in a telephone interview that Dariye has every right to resume office after the termination of emergency rule, adding that he does not need permission from anyone to do so.
Professor Itse Sagay and Dr. Kanyinsola Ajayi, who also spoke on telephone, went further to decry government�s attempt to block the governor�s return through the courts.
Their comments came just as Saturday Punch gathered that there are moves to extend emergency rule in the state and thereby ensure that Dariye does not return.
Olanipekun stated that the governor was constitutionally elected by the people and was only suspended for a fixed term, adding that when the period expires, Dariye should return to office.
He stated that reported pleas by some eminent Nigerians for President Olusegun Obasanjo to end the emergency rule were uncalled for as Dariye was not appointed to lead the state and as such cannot be subjected to the dictates of any person.
His words: �Since the order which they made suspending him is for six months, he doesn�t need anybody�s permission to return to office. He didn�t just get there by anyone�s will. He was elected by the people.
�It is unfortunate that Dariye is a coward. He should have gone to court immediately the state of emergency was declared, instead of keeping quiet. But having failed to defend his rights after he had the opportunity to do so, he has the right to return to office when the suspension is over. The question of whether President (Olusegun) Obasanjo will still consider his (Dariye�s) resumption does not arise because he was constitutionally elected by the people.
�I�m surprised that people are begging Mr. President to consider his return. It is unconstitutional for anyone to subject the democratic process to the dictates of one man. It is not right to push aside the will of the people who elected the governor. He should just go and resume office on November 18. Remember that he was sworn-in and he is still the governor of the state.�
In the same vein, Sagay said that government was exhibiting some traits of mischief through some of its actions regarding Dariye�s suspension.
According to him, it was �quite ridiculous� for government to urge an Abuja High Court to compel Dariye to vacate office on the premise that the suspended governor is in breach of the statutory provisions that prohibit Nigerian public officials from owning or operating foreign accounts.
According to Sagay: �That the Federal Government went to court to seek such an order was not surprising. It goes to show that nothing is impossible in this system. But it is quite ridiculous. It goes to show the level to which things have deteriorated. But this is not a government of illiterates. One expects them to know better than this.�
The constitutional expert, however, urged government to retrace its steps because �no court can grant such a prayer. No, they won�t do that and I think government should stay off using its influence to settle scores. We all know that the suspension of the governor was unconstitutional.�
Ajayi on his part wondered what government stood to gain by pressing through judicial means for Dariye�s ouster from power over his alleged breach of the law forbidding public officers from holding foreign accounts.
He said: �Government�s intention is suspect and it smacks of abuse of process. If they didn�t have an ulterior motive, why did they have to wait this long before going to court? They ought to have gone to court much earlier if they really had something against him. They should not attempt to use the court to settle what appears to be a political score.�
He added: �What they are asking the court to do is a political question and it is difficult for the court to deal with it. As a matter of fact, the court should not deal with such political matters.�
The National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party will meet on Monday to take a position on Dariye�s return, according to the party�s National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Venatius Ikem.
In a related development, members of the suspended state house of assembly have denied complicity in the plot to prevent Dariye�s return, saying they were also not involved in the alleged scheming to replace him with the deputy governor, Chief Michael Botmang.
Chairman of the assembly�s Information Committee, Mr. Gambo Mbilamut, told our correspondent on Thursday in Jos that such a plan could only be the machination of those seeking the extension of emergency rule.
�It is a lie; Baba (Botmang) is not taking over. The game is up and November 18 is the conclusion. Everybody is coming back and anybody who thinks that that date is not realistic is losing the game; all the same our case still goes on in the court.�
Saturday PUNCH, November 6, 2004.
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