Rivers Assembly Impeachment: Lawmakers Move Against Fubara, Deputy

By: Abudu Olalekan

Rivers State House of Assembly begins impeachment proceedings against Governor Fubara and Deputy Ngozi Odu over alleged gross misconduct and budget failures.

Things just got messier in Rivers State. Way messier.

The Rivers State House of Assembly has officially kicked off impeachment proceedings against Governor Siminalayi Fubara. His deputy, Professor Ngozi Odu, isn’t spared either. Both of them are now in the crosshairs of twenty six lawmakers who say they’ve had enough.

Thursday’s plenary session was something else. It aired live on Channels Television for everyone to see. Speaker Martins Amaewhule presided over the whole thing. And the Majority Leader, Major Jack, wasted no time presenting the notice of allegations against the governor. Gross misconduct, they’re calling it.

The claims? Constitutional violations. That’s what the lawmakers are saying.

Deputy Majority Leader Linda Stewart followed up with a similar notice against Professor Odu. Same allegations. Same energy. These lawmakers clearly came prepared.

Speaker Amaewhule laid out what happens next. The notice will be served on the governor within seven days. That’s what the constitution requires. The impeachment process, he declared, has formally begun.

But here’s where it gets interesting. Amaewhule fired a warning shot at the governor. He basically said that if Fubara tries to suddenly present the appropriation bill or the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework while investigations are ongoing, it wont stop anything. The process will continue regardless.

The Speaker didn’t hold back his frustration. According to him, the governor has repeatedly refused to present a budget. If Fubara really wanted to do it, he would have done so already. That’s Amaewhule’s argument anyway.

“The particulars of gross misconduct have a lot to do with refusal to present a budget and spending outside the appropriation law,” the Speaker explained during the session.

He went even further. Much further.

“Siminalayi Fubara is a mistake; Rivers State has never had it this bad,” Amaewhule said. Strong words. Very strong words. He pointed out that Fubara and Odu are the only state executives in the entire country who haven’t presented a 2026 appropriation bill yet. The only ones. In all of Nigeria.

The timing of this whole drama is quite something. Just days ago, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Nentawe Yilwatda, announced Fubara as the recognized leader of the party in Rivers State. This came after the governor decided to dump the Peoples Democratic Party.

Yilwatda made this announcement on Friday night during an appearance on Hard Copy, a news programme on Channels Television. He explained that the party’s constitution is clear on this matter. Governors of states controlled by the APC automatically serve as leaders of the party in their respective states.

So think about this for a second. The APC just welcomed Fubara as their leader in Rivers. And now lawmakers are trying to remove him from office. Politics in Nigeria never fails to deliver surprises.

The situation gets even more complicated when you look at the bigger picture. Reportersroom recently covered the heated exchange between FCT Minister Nyesom Wike and APC National Secretary Senator Ajibola Basiru. They were going at each other over comments made by Victor Giadom, the APC National Vice Chairman for South-South region.

Giadom had referred to Fubara as “the so-called Governor.” That didn’t sit well with some people. And the back-and-forth that followed showed just how divided opinions are about the Rivers State situation.

What happens next is anyones guess really. The constitution provides a framework for impeachment proceedings. But Nigerian politics has a way of throwing curveballs that nobody sees coming.

Will the impeachment succeed? Will Fubara fight back? Will the APC leadership intervene on behalf of their newest member? These are questions that only time can answer.

One thing is certain though. Rivers State remains a political battleground. The stakes are high. Tensions are higher. And ordinary Rivers people are caught in the middle of a power struggle that shows no signs of slowing down.

The next seven days will be crucial. All eyes are now on Port Harcourt.