A lawyer and policy advocate, Obioma Ezenwobodo, LL.M, has strongly condemned the recent move by the House of Representatives to establish a 21-man committee to oversee the Rivers State House of Assembly under the current sole administration. He described the action as “an extension of the prevailing and manifest illegality unraveling in that State.”

Ezenwobodo, who is the Managing Partner at Resolution Attorneys and Executive Director of the Policy & Legislative Advocacy Network (PLAN), said the House of Representatives has no constitutional authority to take such action. Citing Section 11(4) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as altered), he argued that the National Assembly’s powers are limited and have been grossly misapplied in this context.

“A careful reading of the said section reveals that it is meant to be applicable in a democratic setting with the complement of a democratically elected Governor and not otherwise,” Ezenwobodo explained. “The section envisages a legislative life-support provided by the National Assembly where a State House of Assembly is unable to perform its functions in a democratic dispensation.”

He further emphasized that the proviso to Section 11(4) explicitly restrains the National Assembly from removing a Governor or Deputy Governor under the guise of legislative intervention. According to him, this makes the appointment of a Sole Administrator and the legislative committee both illegal and unconstitutional.

Ezenwobodo, who also served as the Pioneer Chairman of the NBA Garki Branch (2022–2024), condemned the earlier collaboration between both chambers of the National Assembly in what he called the “truncation of constitutional democracy in Rivers State”. He pointed to the absence of a state of emergency, as required by Section 305 of the Constitution, noting that no legal basis exists for the current administrative setup in Rivers State.

“No orderliness, legality, or constitutionality can be conferred on the manifestly illegal administration in Rivers State,” he stated, adding that the National Assembly’s continued oversight over the Sole Administrator constitutes aiding and abetting the rape of democracy.

He concluded by describing the ongoing situation as “riddled with absurdities,” warning that the actions of the National Assembly undermine the Constitution and threaten the very foundation of Nigeria’s democratic order.

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