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"VETOED BILLS: Legislative Lawyer, Dr. Jaja and ALDRAP to hire Dr. Ajulo, SAN to file lawsuit against Rivers State House of Assembly"


Nigeria's foremost legislative drafting lawyer, Dr. Tonye Jaja, and the Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners-ALDRAP are set to hire Dr. Ajulo, SAN.

                     Dr. AJULO, SAN

In a bid to seek clarification on the recent vetoed bills by the Rivers State House of Assembly, renowned legislative drafting lawyer, Dr. Tonye Jaja, and the Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners (ALDRAP) have decided to hire the services of Dr. Ajulo, SAN. The lawsuit aims to determine whether the assembly has complied with the constitutional provisions regarding the vetoed bills.

The reason is to seek interpretation by the Federal High Court on whether the Rivers State House of Assembly has complied with section 100 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution regarding the four Bills that they recently vetoed.

The four vetoed Bills are: “The Bill that removes the power of the Governor to appoint caretaker committee chairmen for the local governments, three other Bills which the speaker said were vetoed by the governor. They are the Rivers State Traditional Rulers Amendment Law; the Rivers State Advertisement and Use of State Owned Property Prohibition repeal law; and the Rivers State Funds Management and Financial Autonomy Law.

The purpose of the lawsuit is to determine the following issues:

1. Whether 30 days elapsed from when the Rivers State House of Assembly submitted the  Bill to the Governor?

2. Whether a State House of Assembly can legislate on LGA other than as stipulated by section 7 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution?

3. Whether the Rivers State House of Assembly followed the Legislative procedure such as first reading, etc before vetoing the Governor? The case law says, the legislature must start de novo the Legislative process before vetoing a Bill for which the governor refuses assent (see AG, BENDEL vs AG FEDERATION, (1981)

4. CAN THE RIVERS STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY VETO A FINANCE BILL?"whether the Rivers State House of Assembly has the authority to veto a finance bill" - Dr Tonye jaja.

5. WAS THERE QUORUM DURING THE VETO PROCESS? THE LAWMAKERS THAT VOTED ARE THEY VALID MEMBERS HAVING RECENTLY HAD THEIR SEATS DECLARED VACANT DUE TO THEIR DETECTION TO APC?

                        Dr Tonye jaja
                   ALDRAP Secretary


" whether there was a quorum during the veto process and whether the lawmakers who voted were valid members. It is worth noting that some of the lawmakers recently had their seats declared vacant due to their defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC)". - Dr Tonye jaja.

In Conclusion, The decision by Dr. Tonye Jaja and ALDRAP to hire Dr. Ajulo, SAN, to file a lawsuit against the Rivers State House of Assembly highlights the importance of upholding constitutional provisions and ensuring that legislative processes are followed diligently. The outcome of this lawsuit will not only provide clarity on the specific issues raised but also contribute to the overall understanding and practice of legislative drafting and advocacy in Nigeria.




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