Former speaker of the Imo state house of assembly and 2023 Imo state governorship candidate, Hon. Ike Ibe has said that the operators of laws in Nigeria pose a major threat to the nation.
In a recent Global TV program, ‘Nigeria’s Situation in Perspective’, he emphasized that the Nigerian constitution is not the problem.
“The problem of a nation like Nigeria is not the constitution or laws, but the operators of the laws”. He said.
Reacting to the recent decision of the Supreme Court on local government autonomy, Ibe insisted that the decision was just an affirmation of the provisions of the constitution.
“The Constitution of the country already defines the local government as the third tier of government and independent, therefore, the Supreme Court affirmed this.” Ibe stated.
The former Imo state trade representative in the United States also berated the establishment of a committee to oversight the implementation of the apex court’s decision, stressing that such recommendations would only turn the laws “upside down”.
“We have a plethora of constitutional provisions that are not implemented and when they are not implemented we have problems.
“We have to find a way of putting people that understand governance in government, people who believe in the Constitution”. He added.
He then blamed the judiciary for contributing to the shortcomings, stressing that judges are responsible to Nigerians as “Ministers in the temple of justice” who should not be influenced by relationships or peculiar interests.
“The judiciary, legislature and executive are part of the problems and the citizens are suffering from it”. He concluded.
Chinedum Anayo