Daniel Bwala, lawyer and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential campaign spokesperson has said that the Rivers State House of Assembly doesn’t have the legal authority to delist Celestine Omehia or the history of any public office holder.
Bwala who spoke on Arise TV on Friday said, “The privileges restored to Omehia in 2015 were privileges that were associated with something like salary allowance and has nothing to do with official act and the Supreme Court decision that invalidated his election never gave an inconsequential order that he should be delisted from being a governor.
“If you look around Nigeria, like the case of Chris Ngige, and if this one works, that means, places like Anambra and other places will be affected. The official act for public officers at that material time is called the doctrine of regularity, because at the time that they were functioning like the winners of the election before the decision of the court, there was the doctrine of the court that recognizes that they were acting regularly, unless there is a judgment of the court that not only invalidate the election but will specifically give an official order that the name will be delisted.
“The House of Assembly of a state doesn’t have the legal authority to delist the public records of the official history of the public officer who at the time acted in the belief that he was acting in capacity with the law,”
He added, “It is quite surprising that an official act that was carried out by a public officer who as at the time he carried it out, was done under the belief that he was acting regularly. Can that in the future be delisted by the House of Assembly?
“Section 4 of the 1999 constitution says that the power of the House of Assembly is to make laws for good, for peace and good government. Any law that doesn’t pass this test will almost always be thrown out by the court. Law is a bad law if it doesn’t fall within the premise of these three tests.
“If Omehia should go to court to challenge that, it will be very easy for him to have that overturned. If it is possible for either the House of Assembly of a state or the National Assembly, to pass a law and delist the history of a public officer, it means that the official act carried out by him be viewed as null and void, and you know that during the period, Omehia must have passed some bills into law, he must have signed contracts, appointed people and so there was the certain act that he must have performed. So if you have the capacity to delist him, then you must also invalidate all the official acts that he must have conducted,” Bwala said.
“It is not even a serious legal issue that you will say it is 50/50. Any law that is inconsistent with the provision of the constitution that law to the extent of its inconsistency is null and void, if Omehia goes to court before the case even mentioned it will be thrown out,” Bwala added.
