By Suleiman Anyalewechi
The House of Representatives will, on Tuesday, AWill,, 2025, inaugurate a-19 member Committee to monitor and supervise the Emergency Rule in Rivers State.
President Bola Tinubu had, on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, appointed retired Vice Admiral Ibok- Ete Ibas as the Sole Administrator of the State, after imposing a six- month State of Emergency. He suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his Deputy and the State Assembly Lawmakers.
However, apart from the development not going down well, with a large number of the Nigerian people ,the conducts of the Administrator since assuming office, have raised so much questions about his motives.
Particularly, his decisions to prepare a new 2025 budget estimate, the dissolution and reconstitution of some Boards and Parastatals including that of the River state Independent Electoral Commission, and the appointment of interim leadership for the State’s 23 Local Councils, not a few believe, are clear signs that the Administrator has overstepped his bounds as a place-holder.
The Constitution of the monitoring committee is coming on the House of Representatives open condemnation of Ibas plan to prepare a fresh the 2025 appropriation bill for the state
The Deputy chairman of the House Committee on Information last week cautioned Admiral Ibas against ,going against the terms and conditions of the emergency rule as spelt out by the Federal law makers.
He pointedly reminded the Administrator that his mandate does not include the preparation of a fresh budget estimate.
In a statement issued on Sunday by the chairman of the House Committee on information ,Akintunde Rotimi , the monitoring committee is to be headed by the Majority Leader Prof Julius Ihonvbere.
Other members of the Committee include the Minority Whip (Vice chairman) Deputy Chief Whip ,Rt Hon Idris Wase, ,leader of the North East caucus Hon Aliyu Muktar Betera and Hon Sada Soli ,the leader of the North West caucus,as well as others.
According to the statement ,the primary assignment of the Committee is to ensure that the emergency rule in Rivers state is implemented strictly in a accordance with the resolution of the House during the approval of the the emergency proclamation by the President.
The Secretariat of the Committee is to be manned by the Chief of Staff to the Speaker Prof Jake Dan-Azumi.
” The Proclamation presented to the National Assembly by Mr president was subjected to rigorous legislative consideration ,and duly amended to strengthen democratic safeguards ,and uphold the principles of check and balance.
One of the most consequential amendments was the designation of the National Assembly — rather than the Federal Executive Council ,as the oversight authority for all regulations issued under the emergency arrangement.
In line with Section 5 of the State of Emergency ( Rivers State) proclamation of ,2025 ,and pursuant to Section 11,(4) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria ,the House has constituted a dedicated Ad-Hoc Committee to monitor the implementation and ensure that governance in the state remains within the bounds of Constitutionalism and rule of law”, the statement partly read.
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