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  • No Vacuum In The Leadership Of The Cross River State House Of Assembly BY OKOI OBONO-OBLA 

    No Vacuum In The Leadership Of The Cross River State House Of Assembly BY OKOI OBONO-OBLA 

     

    On 22 May 2024 ,something that startled political pundits happened in the Cross River State when the people were hit with the breaking news that the Speaker of the House of Assembly has been removed.

    However rumour mongers started speculating that because the removed Speaker was not replaced the removal of the previous speaker would not stand .

    There is No Rule in the Rules and Regulations of the Cross River State House of Assembly that says when the Speaker of the House of Assembly is removed ,another Speaker must automatically with alacrity elected to replace the one removed.

    The Cross River State House of Assembly is independent and indeed a sovereign.
    Its proceedings are internally regulated by the Assembly.

    Therefore the insinuation that the removed Speaker remains in office because another Speaker was not elected on 22 May 2024 when he was removed upon a resolution signed by 17 members is bunkum and constitutionally a balderdash.

    four and not more than forty members.
    Section 92 (1) and (2) (a)(b) and (c) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,1999 provides as follows:
    (1) There shall be a Speaker and a Deputy Speaker of a House of Assembly who shall be elected by the members of the House from among themselves.
    (2) The Speaker or Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly shall vacate his office –

    (a) if he ceases to be a member of the House of Assembly otherwise than by reason of the dissolution of the House;

    (b) When the House first sits after any dissolution of House; or

    (c) if he is removed from office by a resolution of House of Assembly by the votes of not less than two-third majority of the members of the House of Assembly

    Section 92 (c) (c) of the Constitution is very explicit,the Speaker stands removed from office if he is removed by a resolution of votes of not less than 2/3 of the members of the House of Assembly.

    In other words,the Speaker or Deputy Speaker shall vacate his office in three circumstances namely:
    (a) when he ceases to be a member of the House of Assembly;
    (b) the House sits after dissolution;and
    (c) If he is removed by a resolution of votes of not less than 2/3 of the members of the House of Assembly.

    Finally ,there is no vacuum in the Cross River State House of Assembly because the Deputy Speaker is still in office as he was not affected by the removal Speaker.

    Section 95(1) and (2) of the Constitution is handy and therefore comes into aid.
    Section 95 (1) and (2) of the Constitution provides as:
    (1) At any sitting of a House of Assembly, the Speaker of that House shall preside, and in his absence the Deputy Speaker shall preside.
    (2) In the absence of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House, such members of the House as the House may elect for a purpose shall preside.

    In the light of the above,there is no vacuum whatsoever in the leadership of the Cross River House of Assembly presently.

    The Deputy Speaker will preside over the House whenever it reconvenes and a new Speaker will be elected there after.

    @ 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 or the organization the author works for.

  • Cross River Abuja Liaison Office: House Assembly Calls For Revocation, Demands Immediate Halt To Renovation

    Cross River Abuja Liaison Office: House Assembly Calls For Revocation, Demands Immediate Halt To Renovation

     

    The Cross River State House of Assembly in a unanimous motion moved by Hon Kingsley Ntui, the member representing Etung State Constituency on Tuesday 19 March, 2024, called on the Cross River State Government to revoke the state’s Abuja Liaison Office, which was purportedly concessioned to a private individual.

    The Assembly’s Minority Whip, Hon. Omang Omang, expressed on the floor of the Assembly his dismay at the extensive renovations being carried out without the State Government’s knowledge. He also pointed out that the Assembly has not yet received any documentation proving the Abuja Liaison Office’s concession through due process to a private person or group of people.

    Omang citing Section 128 of the Nigerian Constitution which empowers the House of Assembly to carry out an investigation, demanded an inquiry into the purported sale of state-owned property and the subsequent prosecution of those involved to dissuade future attempts by others to unlawfully privatize government assets.

    Hon Neji Abang, the member representing Ikom 1 constituency, Hon Okon Owuna, a member representing Akamkpa II, Hon Ovat Agbor, a member representing Obubra I, and other members of the Assembly called for the immediate suspension of the ongoing renovations on the building and its recovery to the Cross River State Government. In addition, they demanded that the Assembly call on all parties engaged in the concession to provide a thorough explanation of the procedures followed before the properties were granted to private individuals.

    The Speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly Rt Hon. Elvert Ayambem reaffirmed that the Assembly members’ call for the property’s return in Abuja was a priority for the people of Cross River State and was not motivated by vendetta or witch-hunting anyone. He maintained that Governor Otu-led administration is the people’s first administration and the House will do its best to support the actualization.

  • Bakassi Inferno: C’River Lawmakers Ask For Government’s Assistance For Ine-Abasi Community

    Bakassi Inferno: C’River Lawmakers Ask For Government’s Assistance For Ine-Abasi Community

    By Itam Offor

    The State Lawmakers have requested for the State Government’s intervention and support for the people of Ine-Abasi, a fishing port in Bakassi Local Government Area, where a recent fire outbreak rendered most of them homeless.

    The Lawmakers resolved that, the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) should provide relief materials including building and fishing equipments to assist the victims rebuild their homes and resume their fishing occupation.

    The Lawmakers adopted the resolution after debating on a Matter of Urgent Public Interest presented by the Member representing Bakassi State Consistency, Hon. Eyo Bassey Edet.

    Hon. Edet lamented the terrible condition faced by the people of Ine-Abasi whom he said, have suffered greatly as a result of the fire outbreak which occurred a few days into the new year.

    He informed the House that, though no life was lost, the inferno had engulfed the entire community thereby incapacitating the people and requested for the State Government’s urgent intervention to ameliorate the suffering of the victims.

    Contributing to the debate, Members expressed sympathy with the affected community. They lamented the lack of fire stations and vehicles in the rural areas across the State.

    The lawmakers further observed that, the inferno has affected the economic activities of the community which is a major fishing community. They stressed the need for urgent intervention so that the victims can resume their businesses.

    On his part, the Speaker of the Assembly, Rt. Hon. Elvert Ayambem expressed sadness over the incident stressing that, it has serious consequences on the economy of the victims and the State.

    Ayambem further directed the clerk, Mr Dominic Akiba to forward clean copies of the resolution to the State Governor for implementation.

  • Anti-labour Bill: Cross River Organized Labour Takes Protest To House Of Assembly

    Anti-labour Bill: Cross River Organized Labour Takes Protest To House Of Assembly

    By Favour Izukah

    The Cross River Labour Chapter has embarked on a protest against a bill tagged by them as “Anti-labour” bill, which was proposed by Honourable Member Garba Datti Mohammed representing Sabon Gari Federal Constituency of Kaduna State.

    The protest which was held at the Cross River State House of Assembly Complex was to move against the bill which has passed the first and second reading seeking the transfer of minimum wage from Exclusive Legislative List to the Concurrent Legislative List.

    According to the organized labour,

    passing such bill to law implies that the effort of the work force in the country to free itself from unfavourable conditions is a waste. Moreso, the bill only places them at the mercy of the state.

    However, the protest was made at the State’s house of Assembly to call on the Speaker, Rt. Honourable Etanj Jona William, to rule against the bill when it comes to the Assembly for confirmation.

    The protest was also used to table Local issues affecting workers in the state which includes; Release of gratuities to retirees, promotion implementation, release of the deduction made on Worker’s Salaries amongst others.

    Reacting to the protest, the Speaker of

    the Cross River State House of Assembly assured that the Honourable Members are in support of the workers and if they tag the bill as Anti-Labour, so it is.

    ” We are in total solidarity with you as an Assembly. We stand by you and we will walk with you. If we need to go up with you we will and if we need to go down with you we will.

    “I am assuring you one thing, if the bill comes to us for a concurrent confirmation, we will reject it.

    ” We work for the people and we are elected for the people. If you say the bill is wrong, I don’t think we have any right to continue.

    ” You have told us the bill is Anti-people. We will maintain it. Cross River state of Assembly says no to it.

    “I will take the copy of the material presented to me to the conference of speakers. We will deliberate on it and that decision must be favourable for you.

    On the part of the local issues affecting the workers in the State tabled before the Speaker, he said that the issues have been raised on several occasions but he will work at addressing them soonest.

    “On the issue that concerns the state, on more than three occasion we have taken up the matter and we will continue to take the matter up. I will meet with the new Head of Service and this will be part of the

    issue I will be discussing with her, which I will then take up to His excellency for final approval”.

  • Cross River Assembly Speaker Urges Police To Curb Insessant Kidnapping In The State

    Cross River Assembly Speaker Urges Police To Curb Insessant Kidnapping In The State

    By Hope Obeten

    The Speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Eteng Jonah Williams has called on the authority of the Nigerian Police Force State Command to curb the spate of incessant kidnapping in the state.

    The Speaker made the call when he paid a courtesy visit with his entourage to the new Cross River State Commissioner of Police, Abdulkadir Jimoh in his office in Calabar on Monday, 1st September, 2020.

    Mr. Speaker reiterated the commitment and readiness of the 9th Assembly under his watch to render necessary assistance and support geared towards enhancing efficient and effective policing of the state.

    He used the opportunity to officially welcome the new CP to Cross River State and thanked him for his achievements recorded so far within the short period.

    “I want to thank you specially for what you have been doing since you came onboard, we have seen kidnappers that were arrested in Calabar and even as far as Ogoja, we are happy and want to see more of that”, Willaims said.

    He also used the avenue to inform the State Commissioner of Police of the Anti-Kidnapping law that was already passed by the state assembly which gives the police adequate legislative backing to fight kidnapping in the state.

    Earlier, Commissioner of Police in Cross River State, Abdulkadir Jimoh appreciated the timely visit of the legislative arm of the government, noting that they are the accredited representatives of the public. He solicited the support and assistance of the House of Assembly to enable the police in the state discharge its responsibility effectively.

    The Police Commissioner said he is committed to community policing hence pledged the readiness of the command to work assiduously to ensure Cross Riverians enjoy sleep, and have peace of mind.

    Members of the House who were present during the courtesy call include, the Leader of the House, Rt. Hon. Peter Odey and the Clerk, Elder Bassey Ekpenyong.

  • C’River House Of Assembly Begins e-Legislation, Launches Official Website

    C’River House Of Assembly Begins e-Legislation, Launches Official Website

     

    By Hope Obeten – CPS To The Speaker

    The Cross State House of Assembly, on Thursday, as part of activities to mark the 9th assembly one year in office anniversary kicked off its process of e-legislation with the official launching of its website.

    In a speech at the press briefing held at the Assembly chambers, the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Eteng Jonah Williams described it as a dream come true and a huge milestone recorded by the 9th assembly, which according to him would make the assembly more accessible to members of the public and the media.

    Williams further stated that information played vital role in legislative processes and law making, adding “if it is technologically driven, it makes the job of the legislature easier and enhances productivity.

    The functional website is www.crsassembly.com.ng for now this is the design site. The main site will be “crshoassembly.gov.ng” when ready.

    It is hoped that when the relevant content is provided, the site will provide information on Membership, House Committees, past Hon. Members/Speakers and their Deputies, Clerks, and existing directorates.

    It will also provide information on proceedings, Bills, Motions and major deliberations of the House. The site will equally display photos, videos and events or news in respect of the House.

    Apart from this, the website will bring Honourable Members closer to their constituents and will provide authentic information for proper guidance of members of the public.