ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- Section three of the Rivers State House of Assembly Service Commission Law recently amended by the Martins Amaewhule-led Assembly, has been nullified by a High Court in Rivers State.
Channels reports that the amendment, which was recently enacted after the Assembly vetoed Governor Siminalayi Fubara, transferred the power to appoint the chairman and members of the commission from the governor to the Speaker of the House.
Concerned about the significant change, the Association of Legal Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), initiated a legal action to seek the court’s interpretation of the amendment in line with the Nigerian Constitution.
The organisation requested the court to determine whether section three of the amended House of Assembly Service Commission Law No. 3 of 2024 was consistent with the Constitution.
Justice Kariba Dagogo-Jack, while delivering the judgment, ruled that the amendment violated sections 5, 176, 197, and 198 of the Nigerian Constitution.