The Nation Newspaper Fubara, lawmakers feud throws Rivers into turmoil
Three members of the House of Assembly loyal to Governor Siminialayi Fubara declared themselves as the authentic House of Assembly members.This follows the governor’s declaration of 27 lawmakers who defected to the All Progressives Congress from the Peoples Democratic Party as illegitimate.Thereafter, he declared: “All laws, plenary sessions and actions taken by the illegal House members are hereby declared void and a nullity in the eyes of the law.
While the Amaewhule-led Assembly continued to threaten the governor with impeachment, the governor on Monday fired back. He said: “This is in line with Section 92 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as Amended. “Those members are merely floating and do not have any landing ground or anywhere to berth their ship since their defection to the APC on the 11th of December, 2023.
At the sitting, the lawmakers were said to have consolidated the State Local Government Law No. 5 of 2018, the Rivers State Local Government Law of 2023, and the Rivers State Local Government Law No. 4 of 2024 to form a new Local Government Law that provides for the establishment, structure, composition, finance and functions of the local government councils and other matters.
The chairmen said one of the councils last received its statutory allocation in February and two in March. The Martin Amaehwule–led House which has since late last year been at loggerheads with the governor passed a local government amendment bill into law in April after Fubara declined his assent. The call was yesterday described by the Peoples Democratic Party as a forceful move by the APC to take over the state.
They alleged that Fubara had already started talking with heads of personnel management, treasurers and directors of the councils on how to ensure that salaries of local government employees were paid without their involvement. “We also call on all well-meaning Rivers people and Nigerians, in general, to join in condemning the unlawful withholding of local government funds by the Rivers State Government as undemocratic, unconstitutional and retrogressive.
The state Information Commissioner, Warisenibo Johnson, who said that only Emohua Local Government allocations were withheld, told the council chiefs to know that their tenures cannot be extended by any retrospective law. “Local government chairmen have no right to sack any local government staff. The only body vested with that responsibility is the Local Government Service Commission. The three local government areas ran into murky waters.
Johnson said: “There is a prohibition on retrospective law. No law is made in retrospect. So, if a council chairman’s tenure is statutorily three years, no law can be made by any House of Assembly that can override the provisions of the 1999 Constitution on retrospective law. National Publicity Secretary Debo Ologunagba, who spoke with reporters in Abuja, added that the call by Okocha indicated ‘’APC’s desperation to forcefully annexe’’ Rivers State.
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