The rejection of four commissioner nominees by the Rivers State House of Assembly has sparked mixed reactions among stakeholders across the state, with differing views on whether the decision was purely constitutional or politically motivated.
While some observers maintain that the lawmakers acted within their constitutional mandate, others argue that the move may have been influenced by political considerations.
Reacting to the development, a human rights lawyer, Henry Ekene, cautioned the Assembly against using its constitutional powers as a tool for what he described as political victimisation.
Ekene noted that although the legislature has the responsibility to screen and confirm commissioner nominees, any decision to reject them must strictly align with constitutional provisions and not be based on trivial or unfounded allegations.
“Grounds such as failure or inability to recite the national anthem, or expressing views that may appear critical of the performance of members of the House of Assembly, should not form the basis for rejecting nominees. If those were the reasons for refusing to confirm the four nominees, then it is unfortunate that the Assembly would depart from the provisions of the Constitution,” he said.
Also speaking, the President-General of the Initiative for Transparent Strategy for Good Governance, Chizi Enyi, described the rejection as an act of political victimisation that could undermine democratic governance in the state.
According to him, while the Assembly has the constitutional duty to screen and confirm nominees submitted by the governor, such powers must be exercised with fairness, transparency and in the overall interest of the people.
“What is happening here is political victimisation. If a professor can be said to have performed poorly before people who cannot even write an application, then one begins to question the basis for such a conclusion. This has never happened before in the history of Rivers State,” Enyi said.
He urged lawmakers to ensure that their decisions are guided by credible reasons rather than political disagreements or personal interests, noting that some of the rejected nominees are widely believed to be loyalists of Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
However, the Chairman of the Civil Liberties Organisations in Rivers State, Sunny Dada, offered a different perspective, saying the Assembly has the constitutional authority to assess nominees based on competence, qualifications and past records.
According to him, given the current political climate in the state, it is not surprising that the decision is being viewed through a political lens.
“We expect them to examine their governance strength, academic qualifications and previous records, especially the competence factor. If in their view certain nominees did not meet the required competence threshold and they rejected them, I do not think we should begrudge them. However, because of the peculiar political climate, it may be difficult to completely rule out politics,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Rivers State House of Assembly on Monday disqualified Prof. Datonye Alasia, citing what it described as poor performance during the screening exercise.
Mrs. Charity Deemua was rejected for failing to provide her tax clearance documents, while Tamuno Williams was disqualified for allegedly misleading the public about the activities of the Assembly.
Otonye T.K.D. Amachree was also rejected following several petitions reportedly submitted against him by members of his community.
