Nigeria, July 23 -- Under Nigeria's constitutional arrangement, the federal and state governments operate within clearly defined jurisdictions and powers. The powers and responsibilities assigned to each tier are not only distinct but also deliberately separated to prevent institutional overreach and to preserve the country's delineation of powers. One of the clearest illustrations of this division lies in the question of who has the authority to sign a state budget into law.

In the context of the current emergency rule in Rivers State, the writer argues that although illegally, both the Senate and House of Representatives has pass the state's appropriation bill while purportedly acting under section 11(4) of the 1999 Constitution and t...