May 12, 2015
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Section 185 (2) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of the Nigeria (as amended) stipulates the procedure for administering the oaths of allegiance and the oaths of office of a State Governor.
The provision provides thus-185 (2) “the Oath of Allegiance and the oath of office shall be administered by the Chief Judge of the State or Grand Kadi of the Sharia Court Appeal of the State, if any, or president of the Customary Court of Appeal of the State, if any, or the person for the time being respectively appointed to exercise the functions of any of those offices in any state”.
From the provision of the Constitution it is trite that either the Chief Judge of a State, or the President of the Customary Court of Appeal of a State, or a Grand Khadi of the Sharia Court of Appeal of a State, or any person exercising the functions of the above mentioned posts in any other State in Nigeria can administer the oath of office to a Governor.
Under the Interpretation Act CAP 123 LFN 2004, Section 18 (3) defines the word “OR” as follows – “The word “or” and the word “other” shall in any enactment, be construed disjunctively and not as implying similarity. This expressly connotes that each of the offices stipulated under Section 185(2) of the 1999 Constitution have the power to administer oath of office to a governor and can perform that function distinctly or independently.
Section 318 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), interprets “State” as follows – “State” when used otherwise than in relation to one of the component parts of the Federation, includes government. This simply means that a State is one of the component parts of the federation.
To this end, the last phrase of Section 185(2) – or the person for the time being respectively appointed to exercise the functions of any of those offices in any state therefore connotes that in the absence of the Chief Judge of a State or the Grand Khadi of the Sharia Court of Appeal of a State or the President of the Customary Court of Appeal of a State to administer oath of office to a Governor, that the Chief Judge or Grand Khadi of Sharia Court of Appeal or President of the Customary Court of Appeal of any other State can perform the said function of administering the oath of office in the State where there is a vacuum.
In Rivers State, it is known that there is at present no Chief Judge. There is also no subsisting President of the Customary Court of Appeal, as the substantive president was suspended by the National Judicial Commission (NJC).
Therefore on the strength of the last phrase contained in Section 185 (2) of the Constitution, it will be valid for the Chief Judge of another State or the Grand Khadi of the Sharia Court of Appeal of another state or the President of the Customary Court of Appeal of another State to administer the oath of office to the governor elect of Rivers State owing to the fact that there is neither a Chief Judge or President of the Customary of Appeal in Rivers State to perform such function.
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