A court sitting in Rivers State has nullified section Three of the Rivers State House of Assembly Service Commission Law recently amended by the Martins Amaewhule-led Assembly.
The amendment, which was recently enacted after the Assembly vetoed Governor Siminalayi Fubara, transferred the power to appoint the chairman and members of the commission from the governor to the speaker of the house.
But in a judgment led and delivered by Justice Kariba Dagogo-Jack, it was ruled that the amendment violated Sections 5, 176, 197, and 198 of the Nigerian Constitution.
The judge clarified that the Nigerian Constitution grants the exclusive right to appoint members of boards, commissions, and institutions, including the States Assembly Service Commission, to the executive governors of the states, but these appointments must be confirmed by the States Houses of Assembly.
The suit was filed by a non-governmental organisation (NGO), the Association of Legal Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners, who sought the court’s interpretation of the amendment in line with the Nigerian Constitution.
