Four members of the Rivers State House of Assembly have withdrawn their earlier appeal for a political resolution and declared full support for the ongoing impeachment proceedings against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Odu.
The lawmakers made their position known on Friday during a press conference in Port Harcourt, where they said the governor had shown no remorse over the allegations raised against him by the Assembly.
Speaking at the briefing, Minority Leader Sylvanus Nwankwo, who represents Omuma Constituency, accused Governor Fubara of failing to pursue dialogue as a means of resolving the lingering political crisis in the state. He further alleged that the governor and his deputy had directed their aides and media supporters to attack members of the House.
Nwankwo recalled that on January 12, he and fellow lawmaker Peter Abbey had publicly urged their colleagues to seek a political settlement to the standoff between the executive and the legislature. However, he said subsequent actions by the governor and his deputy forced them to reconsider their stance.
“Instead of embracing the political solution we proposed, the governor and the deputy governor chose to deploy their aides and media teams to continually attack the Rivers State House of Assembly,” he said. “On this basis, we have withdrawn our appeal and now support the continuation of the impeachment process.”
Supporting Nwankwo’s position, Abbey accused the governor of persistently attacking lawmakers and breaching constitutional provisions. He dismissed claims that the matter was driven by ethnic considerations, insisting it was purely a constitutional issue.
“I am an Ijaw man like the governor, but this should not be ethnicised,” Abbey said. “This is about the constitution, and that is why we are saying the impeachment process should proceed.”
Deputy Minority Leader Barile Nwakoh also accused the governor and his deputy of deliberately violating the constitution and intimidating members of the Assembly, warning that such actions posed a threat to democratic governance.
While commending President Bola Tinubu for intervening in the crisis, Nwakoh said the governor and his deputy had shown no willingness to change course.
“They have made it clear that they are not prepared to retrace their steps or govern in line with the constitution,” she said. “Their approach is to intimidate us into abandoning the impeachment process while they continue to violate the law.”
The fourth lawmaker, Emilia Lucky-Amadi, said the decision to reverse their earlier position was taken after the governor allegedly ignored their efforts at dialogue. Representing Obio/Akpor II Constituency, she accused the executive of disregarding the Assembly and undermining its oversight responsibilities.
“The governor and his deputy are insisting they will not govern in accordance with the constitution and that nothing will happen,” Lucky-Amadi said. “They are emboldened to continue what we consider illegal actions.”
The Rivers State House of Assembly had earlier initiated impeachment proceedings against Governor Fubara and Deputy Governor Odu over alleged gross misconduct.
On Friday, the lawmakers also voted in favour of requesting the Chief Judge of the state to constitute a panel to investigate the allegations.
