Rivers Assembly Faults Fubara’s Rejection Of 4 Bills

Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Hon Martins Amaewhule, has expressed surprise that Governor Siminalayi Fubara withheld his assent to four bills recently passed into law by the lawmakers.

The bills are the Rivers State House of Assembly Fund Management Bill, the Rivers State Local Government Law (Amendment) Bill, the Rivers State Traditional Rulers’ Law (Amendment) Bill and the Rivers State Advertisement and Use of State-owned Property Prohibition (Repeal) Bill.

But Fubara in letters written to the Assembly, stated that such amendments would create confusion and breach constitutional provisions.

Consequently, the House at its 99th legislative sitting, decided to override the assent of the governor to the four bills, citing Section 100 (5) of the  Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as altered.

Amaewhule spoke yesterday when the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, paid an advocacy visit to members of the State House of Assembly in Port Harcourt.

He said the lawmakers decided to override the executive over non-consent to the bills in order to strengthen democratic process in the state.

The speaker said, “There is nothing the 10th assembly has done under my watch that is outside of the law. There is nothing we have done, either in plenary or committee or during oversight that is outside the provisions of the law.

“We are guided by the law and I’m happy that Rivers people are seeing our determination to do the work for which we were elected.”

Amaewhule stated that it was time for people to begin to imbibe the principles of separation of power.

He said: “People must know where their powers begin and where their powers stop. Where your right stops, is where your neighbour’s’ rights begin.”