A legal practitioner and public affairs analyst, Justice Osai Ahiakwo, has faulted the Cross River State House of Assembly over its proposed legislation to prohibit same-sex marriage.
He argued that the lawmakers lacked the constitutional powers to enact such a law.
The criticism comes barely 24 hours after the Cross River House of Assembly passed the bill through second reading, with lawmakers saying it seeks to prohibit same-sex marriage and civil unions in the state.
In a legal commentary made available to journalists, Ahiakwo said the issue was not whether same-sex marriage should be prohibited, stressing that Nigeria already has the Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act, 2013.
According to him, the real constitutional question is whether a State House of Assembly can legislate on a matter already covered by an Act of the National Assembly.
He maintained that under Section 4 of the 1999 Constitution, read together with Item 61 of the Exclusive Legislative List, the National Assembly has exclusive authority over statutory marriages and related matters, adding that it has already exercised that power through the Marriage Act, the Matrimonial Causes Act and the Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act, 2013.
The lawyer also relied on Section 4(5) of the Constitution and the Supreme Court’s decision in Attorney-General of Lagos State v. Attorney-General of the Federation (2014), contending that any state law inconsistent with a valid federal law would be unconstitutional and void to the extent of the inconsistency.
While acknowledging that state legislatures could make laws on matters within their constitutional competence, including certain aspects of customary law, Ahiakwo insisted that they could not legislate on a field already occupied by valid federal legislation.
He warned that proceeding with the bill without first resolving the constitutional issues surrounding it could amount to a waste of public resources and expose the state to avoidable legal challenges.
Ahiakwo urged the Cross River State House of Assembly to suspend further consideration of the bill pending a proper constitutional review of its legislative competence.
Lawyer faults Cross River Assembly over same-sex marriage bill
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