A High Court 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.
Concerned about the significant change, an 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 on Tuesday, Justice Kariba Dagogo-Jack ruled that the amendment violated sections 5, 176, 197, and 198 of the Nigerian Constitution.
The court nullified the appointment of members of the Assembly Service Commission by the House as they do not have the powers according to section 197 of the CFRN as amended.
According to ruling, “The State has a number of Commissions and the Constitution states the appointor, Section 14.4 of the CFRN. Only the Governor has the appointing power to appoint the Chairman and members of any executive body subject to the screening and confirmation of the State House of Assembly.
“The judgment took cognizance of prohibition of retrogressive law as their action was in contradiction of that section in our Constitution.”
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