Senate confirms 43 ministerial nominees, gives Obaseki one week to issue new Proclamation for Edo State House

BY KAZIE UKO

The Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Tuesday confirmed all 43 nominees for ministerial appointment as submitted by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Before the final lap of screening and subsequent confirmation the Senate had received the report of its ad hoc committee on the crisis rocking the Edo State House of Assembly.

The Senate after receiving the report resolved to give the Edo State Governor Mr. Godwin Obaseki one week to issue a fresh Proclamation Letter to formally inaugurate the 7th Edo State House of Assembly.

The Senate’s order came on the heels of submission of report of the Senate ad hoc Committee on the crisis in the Edo State House of Assembly, by the committee chairman Senator Sabi Abdullahi.

The Committee in its three-point resolution urged the Senate to compel the Edo State governor to “issue a fresh proclamation letter for the proper inauguration of 7th Edo state House of Assembly.

“That the Clerk of Edo State House of Assembly should in line with previous practice formally inform all the 24-members-elect of the inauguration of the state house of assembly, upon receiving the Proclamation Letter through media adverts, in both print and electronic, in conformity with parliamentary best practices.

“In the event that a new Proclamation Letter is not issued as recommended above within a period of three weeks the National Assembly is at liberty to invoke Section 11 sub section 4 of the 1999 constitution of the Federal republic of Nigeria, as amended.

Even though the committee recommended three weeks within which the governor was expected to comply with the Senates resolution, the Senators, based on the submission of the Senate Majority Leader, Senator Abdullahi Yahaya, reduced the period to one week.

Sub-section 4 of Section 11 of the Nigerian Constitution states as follows:

“At any time when any House of Assembly of a State is unable to perform its functions by reason of the situation prevailing in that state, the National Assembly may make such laws for the peace, order and good government of that State with respect to matters on which a House of Assembly may make laws as may appear to the National Assembly to be necessary or expedient until such time as the House of Assembly is able to resume its functions; and any such laws enacted by the National Assembly pursuant to this section shall have effect as if they were laws enacted by the House of Assembly of the State…”