Tamunosisi Gogo Jaja, a former leader of the Rivers State House of Assembly, has defended the establishment of caretaker committees for local governments, citing legislative measures taken during his tenure to ensure governance continuity in the absence of elections.
In an exclusive interview with Channels TV, Jaja revealed that during his leadership in the Rivers State House of Assembly, they enacted a law allowing for the formation of caretaker committees. This legislation, according to Jaja, was crafted to address potential challenges in conducting timely elections and to maintain administrative continuity.
"We enacted a law that provided for a caretaker committee in Rivers State. When I was the leader in the Rivers State House of Assembly, we made that law in consideration of the fact that elections might not always be feasible," Jaja explained.
He further highlighted that successive administrations, including those of Sir Dr. Peter Odili, Amaechi, and Wike, have utilized this legislative framework. Jaja clarified that amendments were made recently to allow chairmen to serve for a period of six months, but stressed that no law can be applied retrospectively in a democratic setup.
"Now, a few months ago, the House amended a section of the law to specify that chairmen can run for a period of six months," Jaja noted. "However, it's important to note that no law can have retrospective effect in any democracy."
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