Lawyers Reject Rivers Budget Presentation To 4 Legislators, Cite Constitutional Breach
Senior lawyers have declared that the four lawmakers currently sitting in the 32-member Rivers State House of Assembly cannot legally consider the 2024 budget presented by Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
Speaking on the issue, Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) Robert Clarke and Wahab Shittu plus legal experts Dr. Fassy Yusuf, Ige Asemudara and Chuks Uguru stressed that Section 96 of the 1999 Constitution clearly mandates a quorum of at least one-third of members for legislative sittings and duties.
Hence, they affirmed that 4 lawmakers cannot legally deliberate on the budget as it renders such proceedings null and void.
The lawyers warned that the action risks plunging Rivers into a dangerous constitutional crisis and possible anarchy while urging security agencies to be on high alert.
According to expert Yusuf, the situation sadly reflects the long history of political recklessness in Rivers and the repeated failure to learn from past mistakes.
Governor Fubara had recently presented the Rivers budget to only four legislators after 27 lawmakers defected from the PDP to APC. The governor also supervised the demolition of the Assembly complex.
Legal expert Dr. Fassy Yusuf described the actions of the political actors as reckless and embarrassing. “For too long, Rivers’ political situation has been dominated by Gestapo gangsterism. It has not known peace politically,” he lamented.
The lawyers advised security agencies in the state to be on high alert to prevent a breakdown of law and order over the crisis.
Elder statesman Clarke further chided the move as sheer ‘rascality’ and something Nigerians must unite to resist for the sanctity of democracy. He lamented that failure to stop it could mean repeating the same anomalies for 20 more years.
While asking parties to pursue resolution through constitutional means, the senior lawyers advised judges involved to refrain from granting ex-parte orders on such weighty matters without hearing the other side or properly evaluating the facts and jurisdiction – actions that only bring ridicule to the judiciary.
