Politics
RVHA In 2012: A Score Sheet
Rivers State House of Assembly in 2012, continued to maintain its apex position as one of the leading state legislative arms of government in the country.
From the inception of the Seventh Assembly, the House has recorded milestones in the performance of legislative duties that have impacted significantly on the lives of Rivers people.
The leadership of the Assembly under the tutelage of Rt. Hon. Otelemaba Dan Amachree was greeted with excitement, hope and expectation of a possible paradigm shift in focus and conceptualisation of deliverables to engender the enactment of people oriented laws.
As many expressed absolute confidence on the leadership of the House, some political pundits saw the change of baton as a mere window dressing as the incumbent Speaker and the immediate past speaker Rt. Hon. Tonye Harry belong to the same political caucus.
However, apart from sharing and taking decisions jointly as members of the same kitchen cabinet, beginning from 1999, when Governor Chibuike Amaechi was Speaker, individual differences, style and charisma would be the determining factor in the assessment of each occupant of the number three position in the state government.
The existence of a political cell within the Assembly came to the fore during the “red carpet event organised by the House to honour past Speakers and outstanding law-makers past and present that distinguished themselves in public service.
Appreciating the Ambassador of the Rivers State House of Assembly award to him, former Speaker Tonye Harry said “many people will not understand the relationship between me and the incumbent Speaker. We belong to the same political caucus in the House since 1999, where major decisions that subdued some troublesome members were taken and he Amachree had been our leader”.
The outcome of the red carpet ceremony was the institution of an annual special legislative session to be attended by past and serving lawmakers in the state.
Hon. Tonye Harry, thanked the House leadership for the innovations introduced into the administration of the Assembly particularly for institutionalising the Red Carpet event and the House Hall of Fame as remarkable stints of a good leadership.
A significant mark of success and development remains peaceful co-existence, thus, the Assembly within the period under review engaged stability and cordial working relationship with the other arms of government.
The period under review equally witnessed the passage of new laws, repealing of others and resolutions of the House that has sufficiently contributed in shaping the state government to succeed.
Apart from acknowledging the laws enacted by the state lawmakers, the opposition political parties had described the Assembly as a mere “rubber stamp” of the executive.
But the House committee Chairman on Information and Training Hon. Onari Brown, debunked the insinuations of being remoted from the “Brick House”.
According to Hon. Onari, the three arms of government are to work for the betterment of the society while the lawmakers as representatives of the people are to leverage on their mandate to make justifiable laws that would improve the standard of living.
Hon. Brown argued that unnecessary antagonism and confrontation from the legislature on the executive would not do anybody any good, rather as responsible citizens that seek the development of the state, a lot of issues are settled through dialogue.
Moreso, he said, the Governor as former lawmaker understands the rhythm of the House and complies without armtwisting.
In terms of input to debates, exposure to legislative business, leadership styles, comportment and experience the state Assembly leads the pack. Just recently, the state Assembly successfully hosted the Pan African Parliamentary Conference in Port Harcourt with the theme “promoting good governance in Africa”.
The conference attracted dignitaries from far and near within the African continent thereby selling the potentials of the state to the outside world.
One issue which had agitated the minds of concerned constituents in the state borders on the near absence of constituency projects by the lawmakers. According to Mr. Stanely Etena, said most of the lawmakers made promises to the people but “they are yet to fulfill them and since we cannot remove them now, we shall wait till when they come to renew their mandate.
While Mr. Etena may not be alone in his assessment of performance via the projects, some are leading in that diretion. The lawmaker representing Bonny Constituency Hon. Aye Pepple, recently fulfilled his electioneering campaign of building a befitting Finima Youth Centre commissioned by the Speaker of the House.
He did not stop there, Hon. Pepple organised a two-Day seminar for Bonny youths to equip them with necessary knowledge to face future challenges and the lawmaker crowned the year with inter ward football competition to identify hidden talents among the youths of the area.
The move no doubt had endeared him to his people, especially the youths.
Similarly, Hon. Onari Brown wrote his name in gold when he completed and commissioned corpers lodge in Obonoma Akuku-Toru LGA equipped with modern facilities and a Lawn Tennis Court.
Others include Hon. Chidi Lloyd that recently commissioned, market he built for the women of Ogbakiri in Emohua LGA, Hon. Okechukwu Ankara a computer centre, Victoria Nyeche amongst other touched their constituents.
However, many are yet to nominate projects for sponsorship in their areas.
Since the 2013, Appropriation bill was presented to the House December 24, 2012, as the Assembly resumes from Christmas and New Year holidays, the lawmakers are expected to swing into action to debate the budget estimates of Governor Amaechi with a view to ensuring early passage to guarantee completion of on-going projects embarked upon by the state government.
Certainly, Rivers people expect to see more robust debate by the lawmakers to justify their mandate of speaking the opinion of their people while oversight functions of the House will keep the executive on their toes to deliver on their promises.
Lawyers representing the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the ongoing local government election tribunals in Benue State have written to the panels’ chairmen over growing security concerns at the tribunal venues.
The lawyers expressed their fears in three separate letters signed by Matthew Burkaa (SAN), Mohammed Ndarani (SAN), and Sunday Ameh (SAN) for Zone A, B and C senatorial districts, addressed to the tribunal chairpersons and made available to journalists in Makurdi.
The local government councils election petitions tribunals were all sitting in Makurdi, the state capital.
In their letters titled “Re: Notice of Tribunal Sitting on Monday 24th February 2025, and Our Security Concerns”, the lawyers urged the court not to sit because of the security concerns.
Mr Burkaa, who is representing the Zone B senatorial district in his letter, said he and his team were representing 294 respondents in all the pending 104 petitions before the tribunal in the zone.
He stated that they received notice through the tribunal secretary, Emmanuel Awuhe, via the ‘Local Government Petition Tribunal Makurdi’ WhatsApp group of the tribunal’s intention to sit on February 24.
Mr Burkaa said the lawyers had received a directive that the tribunal would not sit on February 21, the initially scheduled date and would be heard Monday, February 24.
“We hereby, with regard to the hearing notice against Monday, state our reservation against the said sitting of the tribunal on the following grounds:
“We have noted the brewing tense security situation around the court premises and within the state in the past few days.
“The state of affairs has created a serious security concern for us, as we fear for the safety of our team of lawyers and our clients should they attend the sitting on the said date.
“Consequent upon the above, we hereby respectfully request that the tribunal sitting be adjourned to a further and tentative date when adequate security measures would have been put in place to guarantee our collective security.
“We will be delighted if our request is granted with immediate and adequate consideration,” he said.
Also, Mr Ndarani, representing respondents in the 93 petitions pending before the Zone A senatorial district tribunal, aligned completely with Mr Burkaa.
Mr Ameh, counsel for Zone C respondents in the pending petitions at the tribunal, said the issue of security raised in his letter was a serious one.
A member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Marvis Ossai, on Monday prayed a Federal High Court in Abuja to declare the Delta North Senatorial seat vacant, following the defection of Sen. Ned Nwoko to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Mr Ossai, filed the suit marked: FCH/ABJ/CS/325/2025, seeking the lawmaker’s removal, having defected from the party on which platform he came into the Senate.
The plaintiff also urged the court to direct the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to, within 60 days from the delivery of judgement in the matter, conduct a by-election into the Delta North Senatorial District.
Aside from Nwoko, the INEC, PDP and the Senate, were cited as defendants in the matter.
Specifically, the plaintiff, through his team of lawyers led by Mr. Johnmary Jideobi, posed a lone question for the determination of the court.
He prayed among other reliefs, for: “An order of this Honourable Court, directing the INEC (the 2nd defendant) to conduct a bye-election into the Delta North Senatorial District of the Nigerian Senate within sixty (60) days from the date of the delivery of judgment herein.
“An order of this Honourable Court declaring vacant the seat of Ned Munir Nwoko and cancelling his Certificate of Return issued to him by INEC.
“An order of this Honourable Court mandating the 1st Defendant, Nwoko, to refund into the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation, forthwith, all the salaries, emoluments and allowances received by him since January, 2025 until the date of the final judgment in this matter.
“An order disqualifying the 1st defendant from standing election into any elective post under the amended 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria until and unless he complies with every terms of the judgment in this suit.
“An order mandating the 4th defendant (Senate) to immediately give effect to the judgment of this Honourable Court.”
In a five-paragraph affidavit deposed to by one Ibrahim Isa, the plaintiff, told the court that Sen. Nwoko had on Jan. 30, resigned from the PDP which was the political party on whose platform he was elected to occupy the Delta North Senatorial seat till 2027.
According to the plaintiff, who told the court that he is from Oshimili North Local Government Area in Delta North Senatorial District, Sen. Nwoko’s continued stay in office after his defection, would amount to a gross violation of the constitution.
“That since when the 1st defendant decamped from the PDP up to the present moment of initiating the instant suit, there is never any division in the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“That the ideology of the 1st defendant’s new party, APC, to which the 1st defendant now fully subscribes, does not bear any similarity or represent the political philosophy of the PDP (which is the basis upon which the Plaintiff resolved to cast his vote for and elected the Defendant in 2023).
“That the conduct of the defendant in defecting from the PDP to APC has dealt a major blow to the fortunes of the plaintiff’s party, the PDP.
“That the conduct of the 1st defendant being challenged herein if not condemned and upturned by this Honourable Court will continue to encourage political harlotry, legislative rascality and destroys the reasons for the laws made to regulate the defection of National Assembly Members by the Constitution of Nigeria itself.
“That the continuous stay of the 1st defendant at the Federal Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria does no longer represent the Plaintiff’s interest or that of thousands of other members of our constituency who voted him in on the basis of our faith in our Party’s manifesto which they believed the 1st Defendant was capable of representing in the Federal Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“That the defendant is now representing adverse interests of the people who fought the Plaintiff’s party tooth and nail [in the year 2023] to forestall the emergence of the 1st Defendant as the Member Representing Delta North Senatorial District Federal Constituency on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party, (PDP).
“That time is of the greatest essence in the instant application.
“It will be in the interest of justice for this Honourable Court to grant the prayers contained on the face of this Originating Summons,” the affidavit further read.
The suit is yet to be assigned to any judge for hearing.
President of the Senate, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, on Monday, defended the tax reform bills introduced to the National Assembly by President Bola Tinubu, saying that the bills would shape the future of the country’s economy.
He spoke in Abuja as the Senate Committee on Finance opened the long-awaited public hearing on the bills, urging all stakeholders to thoroughly examine the bills, considering the impact they would make on revenue generation and redistribution in the country.
The tax reform bills are, The Nigeria Tax Bill (NTB) 2024; The Nigeria Tax Administration Bill (NTAB) 2024; The Nigeria Revenue Service (Establishment) Bill (NRSEB) 2024; and The Joint Revenue Board (Establishment) Bill (JRBEB) 2024.
Sen. Akpabio noted that the misconceptions and fears about the bills were spread mostly by persons and groups that had hardly read the provisions.
He called all those opposing the bills to seize the opportunity of the public hearing to tell Nigerians why they believed the bills were bad for their well-being.
The Senate President stated, “The four bills, some leaders and elders have never read them. They only rush to the television to make comments.
“I call on all Nigerians, who are against the bills, to come and make their contributions. Don’t follow social media commentaries to act, read the bills.
“This is the future of Nigeria, these tax reform bills. All oversights by the Senate are suspended for now for us to devote enough time to the public hearing.”
Sen. Akpabio observed that while discussions or pronouncements about tax scare people, the truth remains that less than 30% of Nigerians pay taxes.
According to him, over-reliance on crude oil revenue has made many Nigerians to assume that paying taxes is unnecessary.
“At a time when oil revenue is dwindling, we have to think out of the box by sourcing money from other areas. This is a fact.
“I don’t think up to 30% of Nigerians pay tax. Yet, everyone wants good services and good governance.
“This is Nigeria. Nobody believes in the rule of law and nobody believes that tax works”, he added.
A long list of stakeholders attended the opening of the hearing on Monday.
