Politics
RVHA: One Year Legislative Session In Perspective
Rivers State Seventh Assembly was proclaimed on May 30, 2011 , by the state governor Rt Hon Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi in line with the constitutional provisions specified in the 1999 constitution.
The house made up of 32 members elected to represent various constituencies of the state, elected Rt Hon Otelemaba Dan Amachree, representing Asari-Toru constituency I, as speaker while Hon Leyii Kwanee, representing Khana constituency II, emerged as the Deputy Speaker.
Other principal officers of the house were elected on Thursday June 2, 2011, as follows Hon Chidi Lloyd (Emohua) leader, Hon Nname Ewor (Ahoada East I) deputy leader, Hon Ikuinyi Ibani (Andoni) Whip and Hon. Irene Inimgba (Port Harcourt II) deputy Whip of the house. All these elections were done in a carry-go-fashion but the importance of the exercise were not lost.
However, the appointments sorry, election of the officers were preceded with a lot of horse – trading, lobbying and particularly the invocation of the zoning principal of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). That done, the lawmakers quickly settled down for the due discharge of their legislative functions which is to make justifiable laws that would bring about good governance of the state.
The 7th Assembly began its business with three members who were old wine in new wine bottles, namely Hon Leyii Kwanee, Hon Augustine Paul Ngo and Hon Godstine Ben Horsfall. These persons were state lawmakers when the state governor Rt Hon Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi presided over the assembly as speaker.
Interestly, eleven of the remaining members were returnees from either the fourth, fifth or sixth Assembly. They are Rt Hon Otelemaba Amachree, Rt Hon Tonye Harry, Hons Chidi Lloyd, Aye Pepple, Ikuinyi Ibani, Felicia Barizasi Tane, Golden Chioma, Luvky Odili, Onari Brown, Victor Ihunwo and Irene Inimgba.
The 18 first timers in no particular order include Hon Nname Ewor, Andrew Miller, Azubuike Wanjoku, Dr Innocents Barickor, Ibelema Okpokiri, Dr Sam Eligwe, Martin Amaewhule, Evans Bipi, Josiah John Olu, Kelechi Nworgu, Fredrick Anabaraba, Legborsi Nwidadah, Ibiso Nwuche, Gift Wokocha, Michael Okey-Chinda, Victoria Nyeche, Victor Amadi and Okechukwu Nwaogu.
Addressing assembly correspondents recently after adjourning the House sine die at the end of the first legislative session of the 7th Assembly, the Chairman House Committee on Information and training, Hon Onari Brown, disclosed that the Assembly received and debated on a total of 19 bills.
Out of the number, 17 of them have been passed and assented by the governor and are now laws of the state; While the remaining two ie The Right of Women to Share in Family Property and Rivers State Agency for School Inspection and Monitoring are at the second reading and committee stage of legislative action.
According to Hon. Onari Brown, in keeping with session 4 (7) of the 1999 constitution, the House received both executive and private member bills which went through the normal three readings with the draft law being subjected to critical debates on the floor of the house.
At the committee stages robust public hearing were conducted that elicited inputs from stakeholders and the public which enriched the quality of the bills that were eventually passed. Consequently, within the period under review, the following bills were passed and authenticated as laws of the state with the signature of the governor.
These are Rivers state Carnival Development Bill, 2011, Rivers State Senior Secondary School Board Bill, 2011, Rivers State Local Government Bill, 2011, Rivers State Debt Management Office (Establishment) Bill, 2011, Rivers State Bonds, Notes and Securities Insurance Bill, 2011, Rivers State Contributory Pension Scheme for Employees in the Public Service (Amendment) Bill 2011.
Also passed into law are Rivers State Tourism Development Agency Bill, 2011, Rivers State Tenancy Bill, 2011, Handicapped Persons’ Welfare (Enhancement) Bill 2011, Rivers State Appropriation Bill, 2012, Rivers State Public Office Holders (Payment of Pension) Bill 2012, Rivers State Universal Basic Education Law (Amendment) Bill 2012.
Others include Rivers State Public Utility Protection Bill, 2012, University of Science and Technology law (Amendment) Bill, 2012, Rivers State House of Assembly Service Commission law (Amendment) Bill, 2012, Rivers State Road Traffic Management law (Amendment) Bill, 2012, and the State Water sector bill 2012.
Similarly, The Tide learnt that pursuant to 24 motions brought to the House by members about 14 resolutions were reached that have direct bearing on the lives of Ricers people.
It is imperative to mention that as politicians representing different interests, members of the 7th assembly have contributed to various debates at the floor of the Assembly independently for the benefit of the state in spite of the House being 100 percent PDP.
Arising from several uncomplimentary comments about the House, Hon Brown has debunked insinuations in some quarters that they are mere rubber stamp of the executive arm, pointing out that the synergy between the legislature and the executive stems from the fore knowledge of House processes by the state governor who had directed its affairs for eight years (1999 – 2007).
It is therefore not surprising that the peaceful working relationship among the arms of government has placed the state in a better pedestrian for growth and development. The achievements recorded so far by the present administration would not have been realizably if the lawmakers were at daggers drawn with the executive. Thanks goes to the leadership of both arms for the understanding exhibited in running government.
Credit must equally be given to the new members in the House who came with varying degrees of experiences deployed to legislation and have learnt so fast that hardly would anyone differentiate them in the conduct of House proceedings.
Within the period under discussion the leadership have been open and transparent hence the Assembly enjoyed the usual peace that have become synonymous with the state lawmakers. The purchase of official vehicles for members that tended to create disaffection was quickly resolved before outsiders heard about it and they had continued to work together with ought most good faith.
Another critical area in which the 7th Assembly can beat its chest for posterity to judge is in the performance of over sight duties. Relying on section 128 and 129 of the 1999 constitution of Nigeria, the lawmakers with recourse to existing legislation has either invited some members of the executive arm, companies and institutions operating in the state to answer questions were necessary.
The intervention of the Assembly in the recent Egi gas eruption in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni local government area, the crisis in the State University of Science and Technology (RSUST), and the discriminatory practices of companies operating in the state among others are cases in point.
However the support of the parliamentary staff to the lawmakers cannot be under estimated as they work behind the scene in different capacities to enhance the work of the House. These has earned them cordial relationship with the management as quarterly meetings are held to articulate and resolve issues.
From the above, it is crystal clear that the first session of the Rivers State 7th Assembly has recorded modest achievement as a united House without the vagaries of political interference, rancor, bitterness and unnecessary sentimentality to derail the focus of engendering a purposeful governmet.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has insisted on the conclusion of the Continuous Voter Registration exercise yesterday (Sunday) despite calls by some opposition political parties and civil society organisations for an extension over concerns that millions of citizens could be excluded from the 2027 general elections.
In a notice issued on its X (formerly Twitter) handle on Saturday, the commission reminded the public that the exercise would end on Sunday, July 26, with designated registration centres open from 9am to 3pm.
“Your future won’t wait. Neither should you. The Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise ends Sunday, 26 July 2026,” the Commission stated.
INEC also reminded prospective voters that they could complete the registration process online through its dedicated CVR portal or visit designated INEC offices and registration centres nationwide for physical assistance.
The new Electoral Act stipulates that INEC is required to stop voter registration, updating and revision of the voters’ register 90 days before an election to allow for data clean-up, the printing of Permanent Voter Cards and other logistical preparations.
The law also requires the Commission to display the voters’ register for claims and objections within the stipulated period to enable eligible Nigerians to challenge omissions and errors and help ensure the credibility of the final register for the polls.
The INEC National Commissioner on Information and Voter Education, Mr Mohammed Haruna, told The Tide source that the Commission would not extend the deadline, stressing that the registration exercise had to close to allow the electoral body to begin cleaning the data already collected.
“By midnight on Sunday, voter registration ends. There won’t be any extension. There are so many things that we need to do at the back end. We have to draw a line; otherwise, we won’t be able to produce a clean copy of what has been posted,” he said.
Mr Haruna explained that the commission’s Information Technology team and the Voter Registration Department would begin processing the data immediately after the closure of the registration window.
He said INEC would deploy its Automated Biometric Identification System to detect and remove multiple registrations before the provisional voters’ register is displayed for public scrutiny.
“We have this automatic biometric system that will check whether somebody has registered more than once. They will publish the register for claims and objections. That is, if anybody thinks a name shouldn’t be on the register, or if he has some claims, for instance, that his name has been omitted or some of his details are incorrect,” he said.
According to him, the final number of newly registered voters would only be known after the biometric verification and the claims and objections process.
“So, it’s after all that has been done that we will have a final figure, which we will now add to the existing 93 million or so. That will then become the voters’ register. We are mandated to give every political party a copy ahead of the election,” Mr Haruna added.
Responding to concerns over the number of Nigerians who may be excluded from the 2027 electoral process by the closure, the national commissioner said INEC could only account for eligible citizens who presented themselves for registration.
He added that the commission had recorded registrations through its online platform, physical registration centres and INEC offices across the 774 local government areas.
According to a public announcement signed by Mr Ariyo Rufus, Head of Department, Voter Education, Publicity, Gender and Inclusivity on behalf of Mr Oluwatoyin Babalola, the INEC Osun State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), the said exercise is aimed at assessing its operational readiness and testing the efficiency of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) ahead of the governorship poll.
INEC stated that the exercise would simulate Election Day accreditation procedures but clarified that no voting would take place during the exercise.
The commission explained that “the mock accreditation would be conducted in selected polling units spread across the three senatorial districts of Osun State, covering Osun Central, Osun East and Osun West.
“In Osun Central Senatorial District, the selected local government areas are Osogbo, Olorunda, Ifelodun and Boripe, with designated polling units identified for the exercise.
“For Osun East Senatorial District, the exercise will take place in selected polling units across Ilesa West, Ilesa East, Oriade and Obokun local government areas.”
INEC also listed Egbedore, Ede North, Ede South and Ejigbo local government areas as the selected councils for the mock accreditation exercise in Osun West Senatorial District.
The commission urged all registered voters whose polling units were selected to participate in the exercise, stressing that only holders of valid Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) would be accredited.
“This exercise is designed to test the functionality and efficiency of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) under conditions similar to Election Day. There shall be no voting during the exercise,” the Commission stated.
INEC reaffirmed its appreciation to residents of Osun State for their continued cooperation and support throughout the electoral process.
INEC also assured political parties, the media, civil society organisations and other stakeholders of the Commission’s commitment to conducting a free, fair, credible, transparent and inclusive governorship election in Osun State.
Mr Dare made the remark while criticizing Alhaji Abubakar for hiring a United States of America lobbyist with $1.2 million, in preparation for the 2027 elections.
In a statement he personally signed, Mr Dare said the former vice president can’t take Nigeria down the path of self-destruction.
The statement read in part: “Worse still, for a man who presumes to offer leadership to Africa’s most populous nation, his recent resort to grievance offshoring, outsourcing political warfare to Washington and reportedly paying $1.2 million to an American lobbying firm to peddle petitions against a sitting Nigerian President, stands as an affront to Nigeria’s sovereignty and a vote of no confidence in its democratic institutions.
“It is also a stinging slight, an implicit condescension directed at generations of Nigerian journalists, policy analysts, academics, and public intellectuals who have spent decades analysing, critiquing, and carrying the burden of the nation’s democratic evolution.
“The Atiku Abubakar of today cuts a pitiable figure, a grotesque portrait of what a politician becomes when ambition overwhelms judgment and every political faculty becomes programmed for self-destruction.
“No, Atiku cannot take Nigeria down that path with him. He must travel it alone. But first, Nigerians deserve Atiku Abubakar’s report card. Charity, they say, begins at home, not in Washington.
“Nigerians deserve to know whether the Atiku Abubakar who has long presented himself as a democrat is, in reality, a politician of many colours. He has erected for himself a throne built simultaneously on sand and bayonets. It is time to explode the bayonets.”