Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Martins Amaewhule, has said the state lawmakers were surprised that Governor Siminalayi Fubara withheld his assent to four bills recently passed into law by the House.
The four bills include 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.
Recall that Fubara, in letters written to the House of Assembly, stated that such amendments would create confusion and breach constitutional provisions.
Consequently, the House, at its 99th legislative session, decided to override the rejection of the four bills by the governor, citing Section 100 (5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as altered.
Amaewhule spoke on Wednesday 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 explained that 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 neighbours’ rights begin.”
