Wike’s assembly supporters go after Fubara

Joseph Irikefe

Members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, are still spoiling for war with Siminalayi Fubara, the state governor and may again be moving against him, this time over some of the appointments he has made in recent times, which they claim he did without recourse to the law.

Major Jack, the majority leader of the assembly, whose seats were declared vacant last year for defecting to the All Progressives Congress (APC), after being elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), particularly faulted the appointment of Goodlife Ben as acting chairman of the Local Government Service Commission; Ine Briggs as acting Director-General of the Bureau for Public Procurement, and Tonte Davies as acting Administrator of New Cities Development Authority on Monday.

Drawing the attention of his colleagues to the infraction, while referring to the state government circular announcing the appointment, the lawmaker was said to have railed against the move, a position that was unanimously adopted by other members, said to have expressed their displeasure over the appointments.

Martin Wachukwu, spokesman for Martin Chike Amaewhule, Speaker of the 27-member assembly loyal to Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and antagonistic to Fubara, in a statement, said that the lawmakers citing some sections, members in their various comments accused the governor of breaching the state’s extant laws.

He quoted Amaewhule, as condemning the decision of the governor to appoint someone to act as the Administrator of the New Cities Development Authority, a body he said was unknown to any legislation, adding that the appointment of an acting chairman of the Local Government Service Commission, and an acting Director-General of the Bureau for Public Procurement were also acts inconsistent with the provisions of the relevant establishment laws of the commission and the bureau.

The House, which was said to have endorsed the position of Amaewhule, who wondered if Fubara would deliberately act in violation of extant laws and the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended referring to such acts as misconduct, resolved to write him on the implications of the “breaches,” and particularly to draw his attention to Section 44(3) of the Rivers State Local Government Law No. 5 of 2018 and Section 5(1) of the Rivers State Public Procurement Law No. 4 of 2008.