Politics
Edison Ehie: Clearing The Doubts
I read with rapt attention an article on page 17 of The Tide Newspaper of 25th March, 2024, captioned: ‘”Can Rivers Assembly Remove Governor’s Powers To Appoint Executive Officers?” written by no less a personality than one of Rivers State’s renowned lawmakers, politician and youth leader, Rt. Hon. Edison Ogaranya Ehie who is also the Chief of Staff, Rivers State Government House.
I am sure that the teeming supporters of the present administration, as well as members of the Simplified family in the 23 local government areas of the State including me, heaved a sigh of relief when the Chief of Staff used his legal expertise as a lawyer and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria to explain through points of law, and citing precedence, the powers of the governor to appoint executive officers.
He did this to let the unsuspecting public know that the 27 pro-Wike lawmakers were simply doing the bidding of their paymaster(s) without reason when they attempted to strip the governor of his constitutional powers, leading to the heating up of political tension in the state.
Evidently, their aim was to distract the present administration. It was, therefore, cheering that this matter, which gained a lot of traction, was finally put to rest. Now, we know and I say a big thank you to the Chief of Staff.
Be that as it may, there are yet a couple of concerns troubling the minds of well-meaning Rivers people. Among the many unsettling questions that have welled up in most discerning minds are:
1. Why heat up the political atmosphere of a state you were given mandate by your constituents to lead for your paymaster(s) selfish reasons?
2. Is it not fool hardy for any responsible person to put his one and only state on fire?
Recall that until the macabre dance of these lawmakers, they were useful. The question then is what went wrong?
It has become crystal clear that with Rt Hon. Edison Ehie’s treatise that Governor Sim Fubara is God sent to unite this State, a detribalised and 21st century leader with peaceful deposition who operates within the Constitution and the rule of law in tandem with civilised realities.
The truth must be told that no governor with executive powers like Sim Fubara in Nigeria and elsewhere can tolerate the shenanigans being perpetrated by the pro-Wike lawmakers led by Rt. Hon. Martin Amaehule in Rivers State. It is a show of shame to even imagine that this set of lawmakers are bereft of the legal implications of their blunder in their inordinate quest to satisfy their godfather.
Though I stand to be corrected, I dare say that many of our lawmakers are lawyers. The question that arises then is: how come, were they not able to align their actions on this matter with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria?
According to the submission of Rt Hon. Ehie, what the Rivers State House of Assembly, on Thursday, 15th February, 2024, did at its 109th legislative sitting, viz; the law passed concerning the Rivers State House of Assembly Service Commission (Amendment) Bill 2024, was after all a nullity.
It would be recalled that the embattled lawmakers had earlier amended the law and sent to His Excellency, Sir Sim Fubara, for his assent. However, because the governor withheld his assent, the House decided to re-pass the bill into law after 30 days, on 22nd March, 2024.
Of course, Rt. Hon. Edison Ehie supported his assertion by quoting relevant laws, cases and authorities to answer the burning matter and prove that the action by the pro-Wike lawmakers lacked the powers, legal and otherwise, to remove the power of appointment of the Chairman and members of the Rivers State of Assembly Service Commission from the Governor and vest same on themselves.
Contending that the provision in the Rivers State House of Assembly (Amendment) Law 2024 seeking to vest the power of appointment on the House of Assembly is in clear contravention of the 1999 Constitution and therefore a nullity in the eyes of the law.
This singular clarification by the Chief of Staff, Government House, makes me describe him as a round peg in a round hole. Rivers people and the teeming supporters of His Excellency through this publication of 25th March, 2024 now have a clearer and proper knowledge of the matter and affirm also from the case of Lord Denning that “if an act is void, then, it is a nullity. It is not only bad but incurably bad. There is no order of Court to set it aside. It is automatically null and void without much ado”. You cannot put something on nothing and expect it to stay there, it will collapse.
Rivers people cannot be deceived any longer on this matter. Up or down, victory is assured for the administration of Sir Sim Fubara. He is the leader we need to take us to the next level and no amount of intimidation can deter him from building on the foundation laid by the founding fathers of our great Rivers State. No one man can be God to our people but the Almighty God alone will be our God forever, as far as our State is concerned.
Odinaka Osundu
Osundu, a media professional, writes from Port Harcourt.
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.”
-
Politics4 days agoBuhari Administration Originated Fake PFIPC, Budget Office Tells Reps
-
Business4 days ago$50m Steel Pipe Facility: NCDMB Lauds Brentex, Assures Industry Patronage
-
Rivers4 days agoNBA Set To Inaugurate New National Executive In PH
-
Politics4 days agoCHRISTIAN FORUM PASSES CONFIDENCE VOTE ON TINUBU, WIKE, OTHERS
-
Politics4 days agoTinubu Felicitates Umahi @63, Says Works Minister Outstanding
-
Rivers4 days agoNaval Chief Lauds NYSC Scheme … Vows Stronger Partnership With Rivers
-
Politics4 days agoSpeak For Yourself, Otti Tells Uzodimma Over Tinubu’s Reelection Bid
-
Politics4 days agoVotes Will Count In 2027, INEC Assures Nigerians