Four members of the Rivers state house of assembly have reversed their earlier stance and reaffirmed support for the impeachment process against Siminalayi Fubara, governor of the state, and Ngozi Odu, his deputy.
Speaking at a press conference on Friday in Port Harcourt, the Rivers state capital, the lawmakers said Fubara has shown no remorse over the allegations levelled against him by the assembly.
Last week, the state parliament commenced impeachment proceedings against the governor and his deputy.
The lawmakers launched the process after Major Jack, leader of the assembly, read gross misconduct charges against Fubara, signed by 26 members of the house.
But on Monday, Sylvanus Nwankwo, the house minority leader who represents Omuma state constituency, and Peter Abbey of Degema state constituency, asked the assembly to suspend Fubara’s impeachment and explore alternatives to his removal from office.
Two days later, on Wednesday, Barile Nwakoh, the deputy minority leader representing Khana constituency I, and Emilia Amadi, who represents Obio/Akpor constituency II, also appealed to their colleagues to halt the impeachment process in the interest of peace and stability.
‘FUBARA NOT PREPARED TO COMPLY WITH CONSTITUTION’
Nwankwo, who was flanked by his colleagues, said they decided to reverse their position after realising that the governor and his deputy were unwilling to govern in accordance with the constitution.
“We made a plea to our colleagues to seek a political solution to the issues between the Rivers state house of assembly and the governor, but while that appeal was pending, we observed that the governor and his deputy deployed media aides to continuously attack the Rivers state house of assembly, rather than seek a political resolution to this matter,” Nwankwo said.
“We have rescinded our plea; the impeachment process should continue.”
Also speaking, Amadi claimed that Fubara interpreted their appeal for restraint as a sign of weakness.
“We had earlier resolved to consider a political solution, but the governor and deputy governor are ignoring the house and pushing us into the background,” she said.
Recurring rifts between the executive and the legislature, compounded by the latest impeachment moves, have intensified political tensions in the state.
The majority of the Rivers lawmakers are loyal to Nyesom Wike, minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), who has been campaigning against Fubara’s re-election bid after accusing the governor of breaching a peace agreement they both signed before President Bola Tinubu lifted the emergency rule in Rivers.
