The Rivers State House of Assembly has passed the Local Government Amendment Bill into law without the assent of Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
The Assembly passed the Bill yesterday, despite the State High Court’s order directing the status quo on the issue of elongating the tenure of elected local government officials, which formed part of the amendment.
The Assembly was said to have also screened and confirmed the chairman and other members of the Assembly Service Commission in the spirit of the new law.
The Local Government Amendment Bill has increased to four the number of such laws that were enacted in the state without the assent of Fubara since the political crisis in the state started.
A statement by the Special Adviser on Media to the Speaker of the House, Martins Wachukwu, said the Assembly passed the law at its 159th legislative sitting.
On March 13, the Assembly passed the Bill and forwarded same to Fubara for assent, but the governor declined, according to the statement.
The Bill was re-presented by Majority Leader Major Jack and debated upon by other lawmakers.
The statement said the provisions of Section 100(5) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, empowers the Assembly to override the governor where he withholds assent to a law.
It said Speaker Martin Amaewhule put the question to other lawmakers and, and with a two-thirds majority votes, the Assembly agreed to override the governor and passed the Bill into law.
The statement also said the House screened and confirmed nominees for the position of Chairman and members of the Assembly Service Commission.
Those screened and confirmed are: Sampson Worlu, as Chairman; with Abinye Blessing Pepple, Mrs. Blessing Belema Derefaka, Mr. Gbaranen Robinson, and Madam Dorcas Amos, as members.
On March 22, the Assembly passed the Rivers State Assembly Service Commission (Amendment) Bill into law, giving itself the power to appoint the chairman and members of the commission.
Also, Amaewhule announced the death of Mr. Lucky Amadi, the husband of the member representing Obio/Akpor Constituency II, Emilia Lucky Amadi, saying other lawmakers would pay a condolence visit to their bereaved colleague.
Amaewhule had earlier given insight into some of the provisions of the amended local government law.
The Speaker said Section 9(2), (3) and (4)of the principal law empowers the Assembly, via a resolution, to extend the tenure of elected chairmen and councilors, where it is considered impracticable to hold local government elections before the expiration of their three-year tenure.
He said the amendment was meant to ensure that local government elections were conducted before the expiration of the outgoing local government administration.
But the Rivers State High Court, sitting in Port Harcourt, recently issued an interim injunction ordering that the status quo be maintained.
This followed the Assembly’s move to extend the tenures of the elected local government councils’ officials.
The court asked all the parties to maintain the status quo ante belum pending the hearing and determination of motion on notice for the interlocutory injunction.
The orders were made following a suit filed by executive chairmen of Opobo-Nkoro Local Government (Enyiada Cooky-Gam), Bonny Local Government (Anengi Claude-Wilcox), and five other elected council officials challenging the decision of the Amaewhule-led Assembly to extend the tenure of local government areas.
Also named as defendants in the suit are: the governor of Rivers State, the government of Rivers State, and the Attorney-General of Rivers State.
[TheNation]