Group Drags Rivers Assembly to Court for Vetoing Four Bills
The Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners (ALDRAP) has sued the Rivers State House of Assembly at the Federal High Court in Abuja for vetoing four bills declined by Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
Joined in the suit are the Speaker, Martin Chike Amaewhule, the clerk, all members of the Assembly and Fubara.
In the suit numbered FHC/ABJ/CS/13/2024, the plaintiff argued that the House did not meet the quorum requirement to give such proceeding validity, which is that a two-thirds majority must be present.
One of the issues in controversy was the bills sought to remove the power of the governor to appoint caretaker committee chairmen for local governments.
In a supporting affidavit by the applicant’s secretary Dr Tonye Jaja, the group claimed “the purported bills were a strategic manipulation to remove certain powers of the governor and sideline him.”
The applicant, in the originating summons, is praying for a declaration that 30 days elapsed from when the House submitted the Bills to the governor and therefore the bills passed were unconstitutional, null and void and of no effect whatsoever.
It sought a declaration that the House “did not follow the legislative procedure such as first reading, etc, before vetoing the governor”.
The association also sought a declaration that “a state House of Assembly cannot legislate on the local government other than as stipulated by Section 7 of the Constitution (as altered) and any such legislation was unconstitutional, null and void and of no effect whatever”.
The applicant urged the court to determine whether the House can also veto a Finance Bill and whether a quorum was duly formed during the veto process.
The association asked the court to determine whether the lawmakers that voted were valid members whose seats had not been declared vacant due to their defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC) from their political party, among other prayers.
