Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has warned human rights lawyer Femi Falana, SAN, against providing misleading information to his clients.
During a national television interview, Falana had argued that the Supreme Court’s judgment on the Rivers State crisis did not address the issue of who the legitimate Speaker of the Rivers State Assembly was.
Falana made these comments while analyzing the defection of 27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, as determined by the Supreme Court.
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In response, Olayinka issued a statement in Abuja on Monday, stating that “it was based on the Supreme Court judgment that Justice Emmanuel Obile of the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt dismissed the suit filed by the Labour Party against the alleged defection.”
He emphasized that Justice Obile dismissed the Labour Party’s suit on the grounds that the Supreme Court’s ruling had effectively settled the matter of the 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 spokesperson also disputed Falana’s assertion that “only those who have handled cases in trial court or appellate court are lawyers.”
Olayinka described Falana’s stance that a lawyer must have litigated cases in trial or appellate courts to qualify for appointment as a Life Bencher as “funny and ridiculous.”
He clarified that Wike’s membership in the Body of Benchers was earned through merit, recognizing his significant contributions to the advancement of legal education.
“As Governor of Rivers, Wike was instrumental to 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.
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