The Rivers State House of Assembly, on Tuesday, denied insinuations that it is a rubber stamp assembly controlled by the executive.
Debunking the insinuations, the Speaker of the house, Ikuinyi Owaji Ibani, said while fielding questions from journalists that the assembly only cooperates with the executive but not a rubber stamp to it.
According to him, the French Philosopher Montesquieu, when he opined the theory of separation of power did not mention a watertight division between the executive and the legislature.
“Montesquieu never also envisaged conflict amongst the arms of government,” he said.
According to him: “A situation, where the legislature is cooperating with the executive arm of government for the dividends of democracy to be felt by the people, should not be seen as rubber stamp”
He said where there is constant friction and face-off between the legislature and the executive “good governance would not manifest”, adding that “there is no external influence in what we do here”