by The macabre dance in Rivers State reached a Crescendo:
It seems to me that the political crisis in the Rivers State branch of the Peoples Democratic Party between Governor Simi Fubara and former Governor, Honourable Nyesom Wike,has smothered, and the consequent eruption will possibly led to collapse of the executive and legislative branches of the Rivers State government.
Already, the polarization between in the PDP has fragmented and factionalized the Rivers State House of Assembly into two antagonistic camps.
27 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly belonged to Nyesome Wike’s camp and two days ago in a darinh and deft politcal manoeuvring defected from the PDP and joined the APC.
The Pro-Simi Fubara’s camp in the Rivers State House of Assembly is made up of only 4 members.
On 13 December 2023, the purportedly to be a vacant.
The seats of the 27 members that defected from PDP to APC were declared vacant by the four members Pro-Sim Fubara.
However,pundits wondered how four members could take such a weighty decision when membership of the Rivers State House of Assembly is 31.
The constitution says that the quorum of a State of Assembly is one-third of its membership.
Therefore ,one-third of 31 members of the Rivers State House of Asssembly are 11 members.
On 14 December 2023, the four members of the Pro-Sim Fubara’s camp purportedly convened and passed the budget for 2023/2024 financial year.
The budget is a law.
When a budget is passed
It is otherwise known as the Appropriation.
Section 121 (1) of the Constitution makes it mandatory for the Governor to cause to be prepared and laid before the House of Assembly at any time before the commencement of each financial year estimates of the revenues and expenditure of the State for the next following financial year.
Therefore, the pertinent question is:
Is it constitutional for only four members of a State House of Assembly to pass a law?
Can a budget passed by 4 out of 31 members Rivers State House of Assembly (Appropriation law) survive a constitutional scrutiny for the passage of a bill into law as laid down by section 100 (1)& (2) of the Constitution?
I certainly have my doubt.
The affliction that has befallen the Rivers State has spread to the executive branch of government.
On 14 December 2023, typically, of the scene in a movie, almost one-third of the members of the Rivers State Executive Council resigned their membership.
It seemed to me that those who resigned from the Rivers Executive Council belonged to the Nyesom Wike’s group.
Undoubtedly, there is a political cum constitutional crisis in Rivers State.
This is the truth of the matter.
It will take a sustained legal intervention to entangle and wriggle out of all the legal conundrums and labyrinths that crisis has caused.
What has happened in Rivers State is reminiscing what happened in the old Western Region of Nigeria in 1962 when a crisis in the Action Group Party was the governing party triggered a constitutional crisis and politcal conflagration that led the Federal government to declare a state of emergency in the Western Region.
The chicken has come home to roost!!
Is history repeating itself?
@ Okoi Obono-Obla
Disclaimer: The opinion expressed in this article is strictly that of the author, Okoi Obono-Obla and does not represent TheLumineNews or its agent.
