A State High Court in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has ruled that Celestine Omehia is not a former governor of the state and as such, not entitled to pensions and other benefits meant for former governors and their deputies.
The judge, Daketima Kio, who gave the ruling, however dismissed as lacking in merit the claim by the state government that Mr Omehia should refund N695 million which he collected as pensions.
Justice Kio held that Mr Omehia did not compel anybody to pay him the said money, Channels Television reported but did not state when the ruling was given.
Mr Omehia instituted the suit against the state government.
Background
Rotimi Amaechi, who was then Speaker of Rivers Assembly, won the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship primary in the state for the 2007 general election.
But the PDP replaced Mr Amaechi’s name with that of Mr Omehia, a development that forced Mr Ameachi to challenge the decision of the party in the court.
While Mr Amaechi was in court, the PDP won in the election, with Mr Omehia as its flag bearer. He was sworn in as governor on 29 May 2007.
In October 2007, the Supreme Court ruled that Mr Amaechi was the rightful candidate of the PDP and hence winner of the April 2007 election.
Consequently, Mr Ameachi was sworn in as governor of the oil-rich state on 26 October 2007.
Mr Amaechi, throughout his eight years as governor did not recognise Mr Omehia as a former governor of the state but his successor, Nyesom Wike, after assuming office as governor in May 2015, accorded Mr Omehia the status of former governor and directed that benefits accrued to former governors of the state including pensions be paid to Mr Omehia.
Eight years later, Mr Wike aspired to become Nigeria’s President but lost in the PDP primary to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
After losing to Atiku, he threw his weight behind then APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, now president.
Mr Omehia and other PDP members in the state were, however, still supporting Atiku.
Angered by the development, Mr Wike ‘derecognised’ Mr Omehia as a former governor of the state, and asked him to refund all the benefits he enjoyed while he was enjoying the status of former governor.
But Justice Kio held that from every fact, Mr Omehia never applied for recognition by the state government or Rivers Assembly, hence the state government cannot legitimately demand the money paid wrongly to Mr Omehia, Punch newspaper reported.
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