The House of Representatives on Wednesday failed to debate President Bola Tinubu’s declaration of a state of emergency in Rivers State as lawmakers could not form the constitutionally required two-thirds majority needed for the ratification of such a declaration.
Despite expectations that the President’s formal proclamation would be read and deliberated upon as announced by the House spokesperson, Akin Rotimi, yesterday, proceedings continued at the lower chamber on Wednesday without any reference to the emergency rule.
According to Section 305(2) and (6)(b) of the 1999 Constitution, a presidential declaration of emergency must be transmitted to the National Assembly and approved by two-thirds of all members of each chamber for it to take effect.
For the House of Representatives, this means at least 240 out of 360 members must vote in favor of the declaration.
However, Wednesday’s plenary, presided over by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, proceeded without the required quorum as many members were not present, including the Speaker, Tajudeen Abass.
It was not clear, however, if the lawmakers intentionally stayed away from the plenary session.
However, The Guardian observed that a similar scenario played out on Tuesday when the House passed the tax reform bills.
Many lawmakers were absent on Tuesday. On Wednesday, many seats were empty as the lawmakers present were not up to 100.
The 1999 Constitution (as amended), Section 305(2), states: “The President shall, immediately after the publication, transmit copies of the Official Gazette of the Government of the Federation containing the Proclamation, including the details of the emergency, to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, each of whom shall convene the sitting of the House to consider the situation and decide whether or not to pass a resolution approving the Proclamation.”
Furthermore, Section 305(6)(b) stipulates that “A Proclamation issued by the President under this section shall cease to have effect: if it is not approved by a resolution of the National Assembly supported by a two-thirds majority of all the members of each House of the National Assembly.”
What this means is that the House of Representatives requires at least 240 out of 360 members, while the Senate requires at least 73 out of 109 members to ratify the emergency.
It was gathered that it could be that the matter could not be debated because the threshold was not met
President Bola Tinubu, in a nationwide broadcast on Tuesday, declared a state of emergency in Rivers State for six months.
The President also suspended the Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminialayi Fubara, his Deputy, Prof. Ngozi Nma Odu, as well as the members of the State House of Assembly.
READ ALSO:Rivers: HURIWA condemns governor’s suspension, likens it to military takeover
Tinubu further nominated Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd) as Administrator to take charge of the affairs of the state for the period.
Ordinarily, according to the 1999 Constitution, a presidential proclamation of emergency rule in any state requires formal notification to the National Assembly in line with Section 305 of the Constitution, which mandates the President to transmit the declaration to both chambers for ratification.
However, as the House sat for its scheduled business, no such communication was presented or acknowledged, apart from the heated exchange between two female lawmakers on the emergency rule in Rivers State, which happened before the commencement of plenary.
The two female lawmakers, Marie Ebikake (PDP, Bayelsa) and Blessing Amadi (PDP, Rivers), engaged in a shouting match on the constitutionality of the President’s decision to declare a state of emergency in Rivers.
It took the intervention of other lawmakers in the chamber to prevent the issue from snowballing into an uncontrollable situation.
Thereafter, Kalu arrived at the chamber, and lawmakers proceeded with routine matters, including the consideration of bills and motions, without reference to the situation in Rivers State.
There was no official explanation as to why the expected presidential communication was omitted from proceedings, as the plenary was adjourned to Thursday.
This was, however, contrary to the statement from the Spokesperson of the House of Representatives, Hon. Akin Rotimi, on Tuesday, who said the President’s formal letter, informing the House of Representatives of his decision and seeking approval in line with Section 305 of the Constitution, had been transmitted and would be read during plenary on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, with further legislative action debated and decided.
However, the Deputy Spokesman of the House of Representatives, Hon. Philip Agbese, denied that lawmakers deliberately stayed away from plenary to prevent a quorum from being formed.
“No, that is far from the truth.
I actually came late because I was part of another national engagement. I was on TV earlier, I was on radio discussing the 10th House of Representatives legislative agenda and what we have done so far. So, it is far from that,” Agbese said while answering questions from journalists after the plenary session.
He added: “I believe members were not able to make it to Parliament earlier, not necessarily because of that situation. This is the People’s Parliament, we are always available, we are together to work in the interests of the masses of our country. So, I believe tomorrow, when it comes to debate, by God’s grace, you will see members making their input.”
He also said members of the House had not received any official communication from the Speaker regarding the state of emergency declared in Rivers State by President Bola Tinubu.
He said that even though the President invited principal officers of the National Assembly to a meeting yesterday in the Presidential Villa, other lawmakers learned about it from newspapers like other Nigerians.
“It means it has not been debated. It means the Parliament has not taken any position, and until it is debated, there is nothing we can do about it for now. So, for us as a Parliament, it is still the same way Nigerians have seen it from the pages of newspapers,” Agbese stated.
