The recently established Rivers State Investment Promotion Agency by Governor Siminalayi Fubara is unlawful, according to the Rivers State House of Assembly, led by Martin Amaewhule.
All selections made by the governor for the board were illegal, according to the House, which is supportive of Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike.
The House declared during its 41st sitting, which was conducted on Thursday at the Assembly’s official residence in Port Harcourt, that neither a law nor any communication had been made to the House about the agency’s formation.
The fragmented Assembly’s stance was expressed in a statement released on Thursday by Speaker Martins Wachukwu’s media assistant.
The matter came up after House Committee on Commerce and Industry Chairman Gerald Oforji gave a report on what was referred to as Governor Fubara’s “purported” inauguration of the Board of the Rivers State Investment Promotion Agency.
The statement said that the committee’s report regretted the lack of a law, acknowledged by the Rivers State House of Assembly, creating such an agency, even though it acknowledged that, if properly established, such an agency could create a conducive climate to attract and grow businesses in the state.
“The committee maintained that if such a law existed, the individuals so nominated would have been subjected to confirmation by the Rivers State House of Assembly.”
Members responded on the report, citing the committee’s findings and pointing out that the governor “has relegated decency in governance to the background” in the exercise of his responsibilities.
Amaewhule, the Speaker, emphasised that Fubara’s appointment of people to an agency without any state legislation supporting it was abhorrent.
He also brought up a comparable move that Governor Fubara had taken, claiming to have made nominations to the Board of the Bureau for Public Procurement and other positions without following the rules set forth by the legislation in effect at the time.
When the Speaker called for a vote on the issue, the House took a resounding yes, condemning the governor’s actions as unlawful and dubious.
