A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, has criticized the Rivers State Governor, Simi Fubara, for directing members of the state House of Assembly to convene at the Government House for plenary.
Falana, who featured in Channel Television’s Sunday Politics, emphasized that the legislature was independent of the executive arm of government.
He argued that the governor’s directive was an overreach as the Assembly has the autonomy to determine its own sitting venue.
He noted that the independence of the legislative and executive arms of government is enshrined in the constitution, and Fubara’s action undermines this principle.
The rights activist suggested that the governor may have issued the directive before the Rivers State High Court intervened, but insisted that the legislature’s independence remains unassailable.
He said: “The House is independent of the executive. So the governor cannot tell the house where to sit.”
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Fubara had on Friday issued an executive order for the immediate and temporary relocation of the sitting of the Assembly to the Auditorium, Admin Block of the Government House, Port Harcourt.
In an official Gazette, Executive Order of the Rivers State Government 001-2023, Fubara cited the unsafe state of the Assembly complex.
This development raises concerns about the balance of power in Rivers State and the potential for executive overreach.
Falana’s intervention highlights the importance of upholding the constitutional separation of powers and ensuring that each arm of government respects the autonomy of the others.
As the situation unfolds, it remains to be seen how the Assembly will respond to the governor’s directive and assert its independence.
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