Wike justifies houses for judges, says no chance for Atiku in PDP

Falana: Wike ignoring concerns about potential bias

Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has said the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, will be rejected again if he attempts to run for the presidency in 2027.

During a media parley with some journalists in Abuja, yesterday, the former governor of Rivers State denied claims that houses built for judges in Abuja were to compromise the judges for political gains.

He said the construction of houses for judges was not his policy, but part of welfare packages President Bola Tinubu designed for the judges to promote the independence of the judiciary.

Wike insisted that he was only performing his duty of implementing the project, which was approved in the 2024 budget. He explained: “Tinubu said, ‘Where are the judges living? They have no homes and are therefore open to political manipulation. For me as a President, who wants to guarantee the independence of the judiciary, judges must have their homes.’

“I am not the President; I am only lucky to be appointed as a minister under this administration and who is in the position to implement his policies. It was approved by the President, sent to the National Assembly in the 2024 budget that there should be construction of judges’ quarters, that they should move judges from where they are renting houses, living among criminals.”

According to him, building houses is a policy anybody should commend the President for, adding that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the contract.

Wike insisted that there was nothing wrong even if it was his idea to construct homes for judges, as he had done something similar as Rivers governor. He lamented the criticisms for the project, instead of commendations, especially from those in the legal profession.

When one of the journalists suggested that Atiku’s economic blueprint might have made the country better, Wike noted that despite the former number two citizen’s blueprint, he was rejected.

The minister queried, “Did he not present his blueprint to Nigerians before the election? Did Nigerians not reject him? The chance will not be there for him again in 2027. Which party? At what age? How can we use one man for how many years?”

Weighing on the crisis rocking the PDP, Wike said the party is united in Rivers while calling for aggrieved party members to come together. He also declared that any unauthorised building on green areas in the FCT would be demolished without any compensation, asserting that it was unacceptable for individuals to construct properties without proper approval.

RENOWNED lawyer, Femi Falana however, criticized Governor Nyesom Wike for ignoring concerns about potential bias in providing houses to judges with pending cases against him.

Falana emphasised that justice must not only be done but also seen to be done. As a member of the Body of Benchers, Falana noted that the current democratic dispensation does not provide for external interference in the judiciary’s affairs .

Falana stressed that even minor expenditures, like buying cars or building houses, must go through the judiciary’s budget. He said: “Wike ignored the question which is to the fact that can you give houses to the judges to whom you have cases without being biased because justice must not only be done but must be seen to be done. People in the executive must stop embarrassing the judiciary

“As a member of the body of the life benchers, there is no provision for it under the current democratic dispensation. There are three arms of government, the judiciary, executive and legislature. Each of them enjoys financial autonomy. There are three judgments of the federal high court to the effect that the judiciary is financially autonomous. It was my friend Olisa Agbakogba who got one of the judgments, but those judgments were disobeyed.

“When President Buhari tried to also recognise the independence and financial autonomy of the judiciary via the executive order 2020, the governors went to court and the Supreme Court declared it illegal.

“The national and states’ houses of assemblies later amended relevant provisions of the constitution to the effect that the funds of the judiciary every year at the federal level shall be passed to the NJC and for the states, the money be given to the heads of court. If you want to buy cars or build houses they are to be carried through the budget of the judiciary.”