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The constitutional crisis in Rivers State continues unabated with Governor Sim Fubara using all the apparatus of power at his disposal to ensure that the Rivers State House of Assembly is totally emasculated and does not perform its constitutional responsibility.
After collaborating with three members with three members of the House of Assembly to secure an injunction restraining 25 members of the House of Assembly from sitting on 10 May 2024; Governor Fubara issued an executive order directing the relocation of the sitting of the Rivers River State House of Assembly to the Government House Port Harcourt.
What is an executive order ?
It is the declaration by the President or a Governor that has the force of law usually based on statutory power.
The Constitution makes provisions for three branches of government, namely the executive ,legislature, and judicial.
Each branch of government is a sovereign in itself and therefore independent.
The pertinent question is : Is it within the constitutional power of the Governor of Rivers State to issue an executive order to relocate the sitting of the Rivers State House of Assembly to the precinct of the Government House, Port Harcourt?
I submit that the executive order by Governor Fubara amounts to an interference with the legislative powers vested in the Rivers State House of Assembly.
The Constitution vests the power on the Rivers State House of Assembly to regulate its own procedure.
Section 101 of the Constitution provides that subject to the Constitution, a house of Assembly shall have the power to regulate its own procedure, including the procedure for summoning and recess of the House.
I therefore submit that it’s the Rivers State House of Assembly that has the power to decide where it should sit temporarily in view of the fact that the House of Assembly was gutted by fire recently.
It certainly does not lie within the plentitude of executive powers vested Governor Fubara to decide the place where the Rivers State House of Assembly should relocate temporarily.
If the venue of the Rivers State House of Assembly is unsafe, it is entirely within the constitutional purview of the House to decide on what to do.
The Supreme Court has declared that Executive Order 10 (EO10) signed by President Muhammadu Buhari on financial autonomy for the judiciary and legislature is unlawful.
In the case of 36 States versus Attorney-General of the Federation, the Supreme Court declared that Executive Order 10 (EO10) signed by President Muhammadu Buhari on financial autonomy for the judiciary and legislature is unlawful and unconstitutional.
The executive order of Governor Fubara is a dangerous precedent that must be thrown away into the waste basket of illegalities and unconstitutionalities.
@ Okoi Obono-Obla
Disclaimer: The opinion expressed in this article is strictly that of the author, Chief Okoi Obono-Obla, and does not represent TheLumineNews, its agent or the organization the author works for.
