By Dennis Udoma, Uyo
Worried by the continuous refusal by Governor Udom Emmanuel to assent to bills passed by the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, the States’s branch of the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), has called on the 7th Assembly to invoke Section 100(5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) to pass the Bills into Law.
The Bills, which the organisation says have been gathering dust on the Governor’s table for a very long time without his attention, have remained with the Governor beyond the constitutionally permissible period of thirty (30) days after passage without assent.
The call was made by the human rights organisation, Wednesday, August 25, 2021, at a Stakeholders Meeting organised by the State House of Assembly Committee on Health on two Bills, namely; “A Bill for a Law to Prohibit Stigmatization and Discrimination against People Living with HIV/AIDS and to Regulate the Practice of HIV/AIDS Counselling and Testing and for other Matters Connected Therewith” and “A Bill for a Law to Establish Akwa Ibom State Health Insurance Agency and for other Matters Connected Thereto.”
The CLO’s presentation, which was signed by its State Chairman and State Secretary, Otuekong Franklyn Isong and Comrade (Barr.) Christopher Ekpo, respectively, was delivered at the event by Otuekong Isong.
The Organisation noted with dismay that the State Governor has withheld assent to many laudable and people-oriented Bills passed by the 7th House of Assembly without the requisite constitutional action by the House of Assembly pursuant to Section 100(5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).
It listed such Bills to include: the Akwa Ibom State College of Science and Technology Bill; the Customary Courts Bill; the Akwa Ibom Youth Development Fund Bill (AKYDF), among others.
CLO, therefore, urged the State House of Assembly to invoke Section 100(5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) and pass such Bills into Law for the benefit of the people of the State.
Speaking on the two Bills discussed at the Stakeholders Meeting, CLO described the Bills as commendable pieces of legislation which seek to outlaw the stigmatisation of, and discrimination against, persons living with HIV/AIDS, and protect the society at large from exposure to HIV/AIDS infection as well as ensure that every resident of the State has access to quality and affordable health care services.
CLO, therefore, urged the State Governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, to expeditiously assent to the Bills once they are passed and forwarded to him by the State House of Assembly.
