A High Court sitting in Rivers State has nullified an amendment of the Rivers State House of Assembly Service Commission Law by 25 suspended members loyal to FCT minister, Nyesom Wike.
Amaewhule, the former speaker Martins Amaewhule, and 24 other members of the assembly had amended section three of the law shortly before their suspension.
The amendment was recently enacted after the Assembly vetoed Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
The new law transferred the power to appoint the chairman and members of the commission from the governor to the Speaker of the House.
Concerned about the significant change, the Association of Legal Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), initiated a legal action to seek the court’s interpretation of the amendment in line with the Nigerian Constitution.
The NGO requested the court to determine whether section three of the amended House of Assembly Service Commission Law No. 3 of 2024 was consistent with the Constitution.
Delivering the judgment, Justice Kariba Dagogo-Jack ruled that the amendment violated sections 5, 176, 197, and 198 of the Nigerian Constitution.
Meanwhile, a Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has dismissed the suit seeking to vacant the seats of the 25 lawmakers vacant.
The 25 assembly members, who are loyal to FCT minister Nyesom Wike, had defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Delivering judgement on Monday, June 10, Justice Okogbule Gbasam held that the lawmakers are still members of the PDP after the claimants failed to provide proof as required by law that the defendants are members of the APC.
Recall that a Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt on Friday, May 30, declared the seats of the 25 lawmakers vacant pending the determination of a suit before it.
