Gov Wike assents to two bills in Rivers

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9 years ago

Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, has signed into law two bills passed by the Rivers State House of Assembly.

The two laws are: The Rivers State Local Government (amendment No.1) Law Number 5 of 2016 and the Rivers State Administration of Criminal Justice No. 7 of 2015.

Speaking at the event on Saturday at the Government House, Port Harcourt, Governor Wike said that the new local government law would allow the governor to extend the appointments of the caretaker committees up to nine months. The extension is aimed at ensuring stability in council administration.

According to him, the criticism that the new law gives some caretaker committee chairmen third tenure is unfounded as the caretaker committees are not elected officials.

“Instead of three months or six months, this amended law allows the governor to appoint caretaker committees for nine months. It is not meant to keep the caretaker committees in perpetuity. Once we have elected councils, the elected officials will stay for three years, subject and for a maximum of two terms”, he said.

Responding to the opposition’s critism of the law, the governor said “those in the APC criticising this amendment have soon forgotten that they passed laws in two minutes while they were at the State Assembly. This amendment has been done for the good governance of the state.”

Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Mr Dabo Adams, assured that the House would continue to perform her duties for the good governance of the state, just as the majority leader of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martin Amaewhile, said the lawmakers passed the laws given their importance to the state.