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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, 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.
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Concerned about this significant change, the Association of Legal Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), initiated 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, stating that they do not have the powers according to section 197 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFRN) as amended.
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“The State has a number of Commissions and the Constitution states the appointor,” Justice Dagogo-Jack noted. “Section 14.4 of the CFRN specifies that 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 ruling emphasized that the amendment by the Assembly was in contradiction to the Nigerian Constitution, which prohibits retrogressive laws. “The judgment took cognizance of the prohibition of retrogressive law as their action was in contradiction of that section in our Constitution,” the court concluded.
This ruling reinforces the constitutional mandate that only the Governor has the authority to appoint members of executive bodies, ensuring that the separation of powers and the checks and balances envisioned by the Constitution are upheld.
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