Rivers State Deputy Governor, Professor Ngozi Nma Odu has praised the leadership of the South South Media and Entertainment Awards following the giant strides made by the body since inception in 2024.
The South South Media and Entertainment Awards (SSMEAwards) is an annual event that celebrates and recognizes achievements and also honours resilient and impactful individuals, institutions, and organizations in six South South States in Nigeria (Rivers, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Edo and Delta) for their significant contributions and achievements.
The awards, themed around recognizing “Heroes and heroines of the South South,” celebrates visionaries, innovators, and leaders who demonstrate courage, grit, and excellence in shaping social and economic and the political landscapes, often inspiring continued contributions to society.
Speaking after the successful completion of the last event that saw His Excellency Siminalayi Fubara (Rivers State) being decorated as the Governor of the Year and Super Eagles goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali as the Sports Personality of the Year, Prof. Ordu said she was impressed with the drive of the body and urged the SSMEAwards leadership not to relent in its drive to improve service delivery in the six South South States in Nigeria.
“I want to commend the SSMEAwards for this laudable drive which will in no small way improve unity, progress and service delivery in the South South. Keep up the good work and do not relent,” she said.
Also speaking after an elaborate ceremony to mark the 2025 edition of the awards, Rivers State Attorney General and Honourable Commissioner of Justice, Barr. Chris Green said he was proud to identify the SSMEAwards as it was “unique opportunity to put the South South on the map for all the right reasons”.
“First, let me congratulate everyone who came together to put together such a remarkable event which will, in no small way, put the South South on the map for all the right reasons,” said Barr. Green, a four-time Sports Commissioner in Rivers State and a former board member of the Nigeria Football Federation(NFF).
“Personally, I will always identify with such projects which also aid in improving service delivery in South South Nigeria,” he added.
On his part, President of the SSMEAwards, Sammy Wejinya said the organization which is registered as a corporate entity at Nigeria’s Corporate Affairs Commission will continue to act as a standard torch bearer in the improvement of service delivery in the region.
“I want to thank the Rivers State Government, corporate bodies and public spirited individuals that threw their weight behind this initiative and the 2025 edition of the awards. It was a remarkable success.
“We ate the SSMEAwards will not relent in our drive to be the leading light in ensuring that all sectors of the economy in the South South region of Nigeria are in line with global best practices,” he concluded.
The 2025 SSMEAwards will be celebrating the “Heroes and heroines of the South South, which exemplifies individuals and institutions that had a significant impact in the six South South States of Nigeria (Rivers, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Edo and Delta) during the year under review.
The awards recognized a diverse group of individuals and organizations across several fields, including education, business, technology, and the arts.
SSMEAWARDS 2025 WINNERS AT A GLANCE:
Young Person of the Year:Adoga Agbo Daniel (Graceland International School)
School of the Year: Pine Manor International School
Media Personality of the Year (Male):Zubby Wokocha (Rhythm 93.7, Port Harcourt, Rivers State)
Media Personality of the Year (Female):Sergeant Iquo (XL FM 106.9, Uyo)
Book of the Year: Dream Count (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie)
Bank of the Year: Taj Bank
Banker of the Year: Hamid Joda (Managing Director of TAJ Bank)
Brand of the Year: Prince Mega Agency
Company of the Year: Epenal Group Of Company Nig Ltd
Minister of the Year: Festus Keyamo, SAN (Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development)
Governor of the Year: Siminalayi Fubara (Rivers State)
Senator of the Year: Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa West Senatorial district)
Representative of the Year: Marie Ebikake (Brass/Nembe, Bayelsa State)
Investor of the Year: High Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs (Chairman/CEO DLB Group)
Sports Personality of the Year: Stanley Nwabali (Super Eagles goalkeeper)
Media Organization of the Year: AIM (Owners of Cool FM, Wazobia FM and Nigeria InfoFM)
Gym of the Year: Charlies Total Fitness Centre (Port Harcourt)
Gym Instructor of the Year: Vextrong (Dance Mattaz)
Night Club of the Year: Casablanca Abacha Road, New GRA, Port Harcourt
All Star Club of the Year: Masgulf
Hotel of the Year: J’s signature 14-16 Location Road, off Tombia Extension, GRA Phase
Social Media Influencer of the Year: Soft Ajebota
Local Government Area (LGA) Chairman of the Year: Gift Worlu (Obio-Akpor LGA)
Construction Company of the Year: Lubrik Construction Company
Academic Don of the Year: Professor Isaac Zeb-Obipi (VC, Rivers State University)
Shopping Mall of the Year: Next Cash And Carry Hypermarket, Port Harcourt
Tertiary Institution of the Year: University of Port Harcourt (Port Harcourt)
Oil Servicing Company of the Year: Substrata Oil & Gas Limited
Real Estate Company of the Year: Odibola Properties
Man of the Year :Prof.Isaac Zeb Obipi (VC, Rivers State University)
Woman of the Year: Adaeze Chidinma Oreh (Rivers State, Health Commissioner)
The Rivers state government debunked claims by the state’s chapter of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) that Governor Siminalayi Fubara dismantled the official portrait of President Bola Tinubu from Government House.
A statement signed by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information and Communications, Dr Honour Sirawoo, said the government had no policy, directive, or intention that disrespected Tinubu or the authority of the Federal Government.
Sirawoo said, “As a matter of fact, the State Government and the Governor, His Excellency Sir Siminalayi Fubara, currently enjoy a more robust and collaborative relationship with the Federal Government, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and the Renewed Hope Agenda that is yielding positive impacts on the lives of the citizenry and the state.”
He insisted that the insinuation that the governor acted out of “ingratitude” or “disrespect” was misleading, irresponsible, inflammatory, and unsupported by verifiable facts and should be discountenanced.
Sirawoo said it was also regrettable that a body that was expected to promote youth unity and peace would resort to incendiary language, personal attacks, and unsubstantiated claims capable of heating up the polity at a time Rivers required calm, dialogue, and responsible leadership.
Sirawoo said, “The Rivers State Government, therefore, calls on well-meaning members of the public, particularly our esteemed and hardworking Youths to disregard and dissociate themselves from elements that are bent on driving divisive rhetoric and falsehood in politicising matters.
“Rivers State belongs to all of us. Political differences must never be allowed to override truth, civility, and the collective desire for peace and progress.
“Members of the public are urged to be wary of inflammatory statements and not give vent to those fifth columnists in their dubious agenda to cause division.”
Justice Florence Fiberesima of the Oyibo High Court of Rivers State, sitting at the State Judiciary Complex in Port Harcourt, has adjourned indefinitely two separate suits filed by Governor Siminialayi Fubara and Deputy Governor Ngozi Ordu, seeking to halt ongoing impeachment proceedings against them by members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
The lawmakers had, last week, initiated impeachment moves against the duo over alleged constitutional misconduct, particularly on matters relating to financial appropriation.
In response, Governor Fubara and Prof. Ordu filed separate ex parte applications requesting interim injunctions to restrain Speaker Martin Amaewhule, 25 other lawmakers, and the Clerk of the House from taking further steps in the impeachment process.
The claimants also urged the court to bar the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Simeon Amadi, from receiving or constituting a seven-member impeachment panel pending the determination of the substantive suits.
The court had earlier granted the interim prayers and fixed Friday, January 23, 2026, for hearing. However, at the resumed session on Thursday, defence counsel in both matters, led by Senior Advocate of Nigeria, S.I. Amen, made an oral application indicating an intention to appeal and requested that the cases be adjourned sine die to allow the appellate court to determine the issues.
Lead counsel to the claimants, Paul Orikoro and Lawrence Oko-jaja (SAN), did not oppose the application, prompting the court to grant the request and adjourn the suits indefinitely.
A pro-democracy advocacy group has endorsed the decision of the Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Simeon Amadi, to decline the constitution of a judicial panel to investigate Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Odu, describing the move as a principled adherence to constitutional and judicial standards.
In a statement issued on Friday, the Coalition for Democratic Accountability and Rule of Law (CDARL) said the chief judge acted within the bounds of the law by rejecting the request from the Rivers State House of Assembly, citing subsisting interim court orders and a pending appeal before the Court of Appeal.
The group’s national president, Barr. Ibrahim Lawal Abdulkareem, said Justice Amadi’s position that his hands were “fettered” by court injunctions restraining him from participating in any impeachment-related process demonstrated fidelity to the rule of law rather than political bias.
“Justice Amadi did exactly what the Constitution and judicial ethics require. Once a court of competent jurisdiction issues an order, all persons and institutions, including the legislature and the chief judge, are bound to comply,” Abdulkareem said.
He added that the interim injunctions, which bar the chief judge from receiving, considering or acting on impeachment-related requests, left him with no lawful discretion under Section 188(5) of the Constitution, warning that any contrary step would have amounted to judicial impropriety.
The group further noted that the doctrine of lis pendens, referenced by the chief judge in his communication to the speaker of the assembly, is a settled legal principle intended to safeguard ongoing judicial proceedings and prevent parallel actions that could undermine the outcome of a pending appeal.
“When a matter is before a higher court, all parties are required to maintain the status quo. The chief judge’s refusal to act while an appeal is pending is not obstruction; it is constitutional discipline,” Abdulkareem said.
CDARL warned that any attempt by the Rivers assembly to continue impeachment steps in spite of the interim injunctions and the appeal would constitute a direct assault on judicial authority and could trigger a constitutional crisis.
“The impeachment of a sitting governor is one of the gravest powers entrusted to a legislature. It is not a political shortcut and certainly not a process that can be pursued in defiance of court orders,” the statement said.
The group said the political tension in Rivers State could only be de-escalated through strict compliance with judicial directives, stressing that the courts exist precisely to arbitrate disputes between arms of government when political processes break down.
“Lawmakers weaken democracy when they treat court orders as inconveniences to be bypassed. The judiciary is not an obstacle to governance; it is the stabilising referee in moments of institutional conflict,” Abdulkareem said.
CDARL noted that history has shown that constitutional breakdowns often begin with the casual disregard of interim court orders, warning that Rivers State must not repeat such mistakes.
“When elected officials begin to pick and choose which court orders to obey, the rule of law collapses. What follows is institutional paralysis, loss of public confidence and prolonged instability,” the group said.
The coalition urged the Rivers assembly to heed the chief judge’s appeal for restraint and to await the outcome of the appeal at the Court of Appeal before taking any further steps.
“The chief judge’s request for understanding was not a plea; it was a reminder that no arm of government is above the law. Constitutional patience is not weakness; it is the price of democratic survival,” Abdulkareem said.
The group emphasised that its position was not a defence of any political officeholder but a principled stand in support of judicial independence and constitutional order.
“This is not about Governor Fubara or any individual. It is about protecting the integrity of institutions. Today, it is the judiciary being pressured; tomorrow, it could be the legislature itself,” the statement said.
CDARL also called on political parties, national leaders and influential actors to refrain from encouraging actions that could undermine the authority of the courts, warning that silence in moments of constitutional stress often enables democratic erosion.
“The true test of democracy is obedience to the law when it is inconvenient. Rivers State must choose legality over expediency,” the group said.
“The legislature cannot credibly claim to defend constitutional order while acting in open disregard of judicial restraint. That contradiction is dangerous and unsustainable.”
Members of the Reconciliation Committee set up by the Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) have returned to Abuja to brief the organisation about its efforts at reconciling Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike.
The committee, led by former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Kanu Agabi (SAN), held marathon meetings with the various stakeholders on the resolution of the protracted crisis in Port-Harcourt and Abuja, it was learnt.
The panel, which was set up last week in Abuja, was given two weeks to accomplish its task.
PANDEF National Chairman Ambassador Boladei Igali told reporters in Abuja that members of the committee, who returned to Abuja for further consultations, are expected back in Rivers in few days to conclude its assignment.
He also explained that the committee met again with Wike after returning to Abuja.
The Reconciliation Committee was set up in the wake of the impeachment notice served on Fubara and his deputy, Prof. Ngozi Odu, by the House of Assembly, led by Speaker Martins Amaewhule.
Yesterday, All Progressives Congress (APC) National Publicity Secretary Felix Morka said the ruling party would soon make its position known on the impeachment threat.
Expressing satisfaction with the consultations, Igali said the panel had discussed with Wike and Fubara on how to resolve the logjam.
He emphasised that the governor and the minister are critical to the resolution of the conflicts.
Igali said that the committee met with Wike twice and the governor for three hours.
He also said the committee also met with the Rivers State Elders’ Council, led by former Deputy Governor GTG Toby, and Dr. Suanu Baridam, chairman of the reconciliation committee set up by the Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers.
Igali explained that the team also had robust discussions with the elder statesman and Wike’s ally, Chief Ferdinand Alabraba.
He said: “They met with other elders and stakehokders, individuals, who matter in the state. It has been broad consultations from the two sides. This is to enable them have full picture of the issues at stake.
“In negotiations, results don’t come overnight. In negotiations, when you have heard from the two sides, you sit down and analyse what you have heard and try to stimulate solutions; come back with answers on the way forward.”
On whether the committee met with the House of Assembly Speaker Martins Amaewhule, the PANDEF chairman said: “ The committee was able to meet with some individuals. The two main principals are the minister of the FCT and the governor. So, they have met with both of them. The other people are to get additional insight.”
“Amaewhule, the Speaker is extremely important and I beleive that there is a level of contact they had with him. There is hope and we want the media to cooperate with us so that we don’t inflame the situation.”
Igali said the decision of Wike and Fubara to meet with the committee underscored their readiness for a truce.
He added: “We have also advised stakeholders not to inflame the situation by making statements that will not help. The fact that the minister of the FCT and the fact that the state governor both met with the committee means that they want to resolve the matter.
“We respect the person that we appointed to broker the peace. Why I can’t give more than this is that in negotiations, you cannot say everything. I am not a member of the committee and I have deliberately tried not to interfere in their work.
“I have met about three times with the chairman of the committee. We are getting somewhere and by God’s grace, we will have total peace in Rivers.”
‘APC’s position on impeachment coming’
Morka said APC would make its position on the impeachment known “when it’s the time.”
The Publicity Secretary, who spoke on television, said the party is not aloof to the crisis in Rivers.
Morka said: “The fact that I’m not willing to comment on the Rivers crisis on your show does not mean that the APC is disengaged in Rivers State.
“We are a political party, and a responsible party at that. Our job is to govern our party maturely. When it’s time to share our positions or decisions, be assured that I will come here and share them boldly,” he said.
“But you know there are processes that must be enabled to do their job so that at the end of the day, we call it right.”
The Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners (ALDRAP) has called on the Chief Judge of the High Court of Rivers State, Hon. Justice Simeon Chibuzor Amadi, to immediately recuse himself from any impeachment proceedings or risk being reported to the National Judicial Council (NJC).
In an open letter dated January 18, 2026, and shared with The Nation, ALDRAP warned that should the Chief Judge entertain any impeachment notice from the Rivers State House of Assembly, the association would pursue legal action and file a formal petition before the NJC.
The Abuja-based legal body cited a March 2025 petition sent by the Rivers Assembly to the Department of State Security Services (DSS), alleging age falsification by the Chief Judge, as a potential source of bias.
Titled “Recuse Yourself Immediately From Considering Any Letter Of Notice Of Impeachment Submitted By The Rivers State House Of Assembly Or Face The National Judicial Council (NJC),” the letter was signed by Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja, former Chairman of the Governing Board of the Nigerian Copyright Commission and Executive Director of the Nigerian Law Society.
He stated, “Your Lordship, Chief Judge of the High Court of Rivers State, Sir, I do not need any introduction because you already know me personally.
“Also, our Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners-ALDRAP does not require any introduction because you already know the work that we did for the Rivers State Judiciary in the year 2021 when we installed the JURISCRIPTA software for the judges of the Rivers State Customary Court of Appeal.
“You spoke about this during the ceremony for the opening of the 2022 legal year of the Rivers State Judiciary.
“We write this letter to respectfully inform you of our Association-ALDRAP’s firm resolve to commence both a lawsuit and a petition against you, if you consider any letter of impeachment submitted by the Rivers State House of Assembly.
“The major reason is that you are in a position of conflict of interest, and there is a strong likelihood of bias if you are to consider any letter of impeachment by this particular 10th Assembly of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
“The reason is that in March 2025, this same Rivers State House of Assembly authored and submitted a petition against your good self to the Department of State Security Services (DSS), stating that they have documentary evidence that you engaged in falsification of your age of retirement. This is reported online.
“In the light of the foregoing, the most noble and legitimate course of action is to recuse yourself and write to the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) to appoint a neutral Chief Judge of another State of Nigeria to overseer the panel to consider any purported letter of impeachment from the Rivers State House of Assembly,” the Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners (ALDRAP) demanded.
At first, reports suggested that 26 lawmakers in the Rivers State House of Assembly on January 8 had signed up for Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s impeachment for breaching provisions of the constitution amounting to gross misconduct. The governor was accused of engaging in extra-budgetary spending, demolition of the House of Assembly complex, flouting Supreme Court judgement on legislative autonomy, and withholding funds allocated to the House of Assembly Commission, among other infractions. By Thursday, four lawmakers had, however, developed cold feet and called for dialogue to halt the impeachment process. They nevertheless stopped short of dissociating themselves from the impeachment notice. But last Friday, the four lawmakers publicly reversed themselves, accused the governor and his deputy of deliberate intransigence, and renewed their association with the impeachment notice. The lawmakers finally addressed the press late last week and insisted that the impeachment process was proceeding apace.
The Assembly claimed to have properly served the impeachment notice, but the governor has denied being served. Whatever the status of the notice, it is clear that going into the weekend and perhaps early next week, and regardless of ongoing mediation efforts, the Rivers drama will assume fresh vigour one way or the other. The governor probably reposed too much hope and assumes ironclad protection in his membership, together with the lawmakers, of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). He could not understand why members of the APC would undermine an APC governor, obviously because he does not understand what a null hypothesis is. Maybe, instead of wondering why APC lawmakers would want to remove him, he should have asked why as an APC governor better and deeper cooperation with the lawmakers was not expected of him.
In any case, two main groups are mediating the Rivers impeachment crisis, the first of its kind in the Fourth Republic where members of a party are sworn to removing a governor of the same party. The mediators seem likely to be able to resolve it where everyone else had failed. The first group, a seven-member committee of the Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), headed by eminent lawyer and former Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) Kanu Agabi, will attempt to reconcile the warring parties. By his training and experience, not to say his initial diplomatic statements on the crisis, Chief Agabi seems perfectly placed to make a dent on the problem. Should he and his other six committee members fail to bring peace to Rivers, it is hard to see anyone else succeeding. But as a fail-safe measure, Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers has also empanelled another high-powered nine-man Reconciliation Committee to procure peace between the warring factions. Headed by His Majesty Dr Suanu Baridam, the Gbenemene and Kasimene of Ancient Bangha Kingdom, the committee is expected to plug any other existing loopholes to the forging of peace in the state.
When the impeachment idea came to light on January 8, the second time in Mr Fubara’s less than two-and-a half year rule, it was expected that President Bola Tinubu would again wade in and mediate the crisis. Perhaps he still might. But so far, there has not been any open or concrete move from the presidency to find a common ground between the battle-hardened Rivers politicians. The president had twice mediated the same crisis between the governor and his predecessor, Nyesome Wike, and even imposed a state of emergency chiefly to abort the first attempt to impeach the governor. The warring sides reached a truce and gave indications that Rivers would, going forward, begin experiencing peace. Each side knew what it had signed, and what was expected of it. Shockingly, however, though the peace deals were rendered in English, they were as quickly broken despite the absence of ambiguities. Perhaps buyer’s remorse interjected itself.
If the president intervened twice, imposed a state of emergency, and the war still persisted, it would be naïve to expect that he would rush into another intervention, forge another deal, and go back to sleep. What proof exists that any new intervention would engender the lasting peace Riverians desire so fervently? In fact, the bigger question is to ask what proof exists that the two new committees of eminent Rivers stakeholders would succeed where the presidency appeared to have failed. The answer is that this time, however, the mediators are Riverians themselves. More, they are indeed eminent personalities and individuals who, once they reach a consensus, will not tolerate the violation of their decisions. Indeed, the suspicion is that both mediating groups will at a time during the mediation process harmonise their positions and ensure that no one breaks the truce again. What may in fact be difficult to fathom is how the groups will achieve a consensus in light of the obstreperousness of the combatants and their equally ill-tempered and incompetent advisers coaxing their principals to dig their heels in.
Gov throws jibe, describes impeachment notice as ‘love letter’
Vows to avoid actions capable of breaching peace
The office of the Rivers State Chief Judge, Justice Simeon Amadi, has received the letter from the State House of Assembly requesting him to constitute a seven-man committee to probe the allegations of gross misconduct leveled against the state Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara and his Deputy, Prof. Ngozi Odu, The Nation gathered yesterday.
The House of Assembly Committee Chairman on Petitions, Information and Complaints, Dr Enemi George, confirmed that the Chief Judge had acknowledged receipt of all the documents.
Also received by the CJ’s office were other documents detailing the allegations of gross misconduct against the governor and the deputy governor, copies of the Rivers State Impeachment Panel (Conduct of Investigations) Procedure 2025 and photocopies of The Nation, The Guardian and The Sun, among others.
George said: “It is important to inform the good people of Rivers State that Mr. Speaker has already complied with the Constitution and letters sent by him to the Chief Judge have been received and acknowledged.
“All relevant documents including the Notices of Allegations of Gross Misconduct were attached”.
He added: “Every step going forward, what can happen or what cannot happen is clearly stated in Section 188 of the Constitution.
“The good people of Rivers State should remain calm and should not listen to those who want to truncate our democracy.”
He commended and thanked the good people of Rivers State for their support and prayers for the 10th Assembly in particular and Rivers people at large.
The Rivers State High Court sitting in Oyigbo Local Government Area has however issued an interim injunction restraining the CJ from receiving, forwarding, considering or acting on any request, resolution, articles of impeachment or any form of communication from Speaker Martin Amaewhule and other members of the State House of Assembly for the purpose of constituting a panel to investigate the alleged misconduct against the governor and his deputy.
They just landed me a ‘love letter’, says Fubara
Governor Fubara, in a veiled reference to the impeachment notice, called it a love letter.
“This 2026 that I thought would have been the finest, they just landed me a love letter,” he said while speaking as special guest during the finals of the 2026 Port Harcourt Polo Tournament in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
He added:”That notwithstanding, we must move on and carry on the responsibilities as a government. We will continue to support everyone who means well for Rivers State.”
He vowed that he would not support, directly or indirectly, any action capable of undermining peace and safety in the state.
He insisted that the protection of lives and property remained the primary responsibility of his administration.
He emphasised that he remained the governor of the state and would continue to deliver on the promises made to the people.
Fubara expressed satisfaction that the 2026 Port Harcourt Polo Tournament was held for one week without any incident.
He described the peaceful conduct of the event as a clear indication that Rivers is safe for residents, visitors and investors.
A supporter of the governor, Amb.Chijioke Ihunwo, asked the assembly members to perform their functions independently.
He pleaded with President Tinubu to intervene on the matter, insisting that the governor had done nothing to warrant his removal.
He said: “This assembly must remain independent to allow peace to prevail in the state.
“Governor Fubara has done nothing to warrant his removal. President Tinubu should intervene in this matter as the leader of the party.”
The high powered committee set up by the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) to reconcile the feuding sides in the Rivers imbroglio is said to be working round the clock to stop the planned impeachment.
The committee members have already met with Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike in Abuja and separately with Fubara and some other stakeholders.
For the second time in three years, the axe of impeachment has dangled over the Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara. On October 30th, 2023, the House of Assembly, led by Speaker Martins Amaewhule, began a process of removing Fubara, a few hours after the hallowed chamber of the Assembly was attacked by unknown arsonists.
The political disturbances caused by a worrisome chain of events that threatened lives and property and critical national assets, including oil installations, compelled President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to declare a state of emergency in Rivers.
The six-month emergency rule anchored by a former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice-Admiral Ibok Ete Ibas (retd), saved Fubara’s government and restored peace in the state. The governor, in most of his public outings, expressed gratitude to President Tinubu for rescuing him.
When he eventually resumed office on September 18th, 2025, after the emergency rule, Fubara wore the message of peace as his garment. His disposition after the emergency rule gave everyone in the state the impression that the worst was over. Stakeholders believed that peace had come to stay at last.
How fresh crisis began
But no sooner had the governor settled down for governance than a fresh crisis crept into the state. It started subtly with an unusual silence and later began to loom large.
First, the House of Assembly carpeted the governor over what it described as the rot in the educational sector. The report of its Committee on Education was damning. The committee accused the governor of neglecting the sector. In fact, the lawmakers in a plenary wondered why the governor abandoned the sector despite inheriting N600bn left in the treasury of the state by Ibas.
Lamenting the development, Amaewhule said, “Is it that we don’t have funds in the state? Of course we have! At the time the administrator, Ibas, was leaving, he left over N600 billion in the accounts of Rivers State. Over N600 billion by October, can’t such funds be used to remedy the situation in our schools?”
Fubara replied to Amaewhule and said that improving the poor state of education in Rivers was a top priority of his administration. He announced that the sector would receive the largest allocation in the 2026 budget.
He admitted that many schools across the state were in bad shape, but stressed that the decay did not happen overnight.
According to him, the deterioration predated his government and was one of the major issues used by opponents during the 2023 election campaigns.
Indeed, the initial outburst by the House of Assembly was an expose that things were beginning to fall apart and the centre was gradually caving in again. The governor’s later response further gave credence to the emerging cracks.
In his recent project inauguration, Fubara seized the opportunity to address some issues, which expanded the coast of the crisis. His explanation showed that the executive and the legislature were not working together.
Though he declared that he had no personal problem with the House of Assembly members, the governor claimed that he had not been able to meet with the lawmakers because the arrangement for such a gathering had yet to be made by the concerned leaders.
Fubara averred that the leader of the state’s Elders’ Council, Chief Ferdinand Anabraba, could attest to the many failed efforts he had made to meet with the lawmakers. In fact, the governor particularly said that the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, Chief Nyesom Wike, had not made the necessary arrangements for the meeting.
He said: “I have made every effort; I believe that the leadership of the State Elders Council, led by Chief Ferdinand Anabraba can attest to this. I have made every effort to meet with them, and the arrangement wasn’t for me to call them directly. It was for our leader, the Minister, to arrange the meeting, and till now that meeting has not been fixed.
“So when people go about saying I don’t want to meet with them or that I don’t want to meet their demands, that is not true. I don’t have any reason to do that.
I personally said whatever their need is, I am ready to meet it so that we can have peace in the State.
“So, please, I am saying it here. Whoever is telling you that I don’t want to meet with the members of the State House of Assembly is not true. I met with our leaders, and they said they will arrange a meeting. I don’t want to go behind them so that it won’t look like going behind is to divide the house. I am a gentleman and very principled. That is the reason I am saying it here.”
However, Fubara’s statement angered Amaewhule, who, without mincing words, described the governor as a liar. Amaewhule claimed that the lawmakers met with the governor many times after the emergency rule, but that Fubara had refused to implement the decisions reached at the peace gathering.
He recalled that Wike arranged a meeting between the 27 members of the House and the governor at the Minister’s official residence in Abuja.
He also remembered that another meeting was arranged by Wike involving members of the Elders Council, some lawmakers and the governor at the residence of Anabraba.
Amaewhule recalled that in one of the meetings between the governor and the lawmakers, Fubara told them that he would not present any other appropriation bill to the assembly.
He lamented that the assembly was in the dark about the actions of the governor and that Fubara had been spending money without the approval of the lawmakers.
He said: “Emergency rule was declared, and after the emergency rule, we asked the governor to bring his budget so we could take care of all he intended to do. We asked him to present his budget. In 2024, he spent without appropriation. In 2025, he was spending. After the emergency, we had a meeting, and we asked him to bring his budget.
“Here, in that meeting, the governor told us blatantly that he was not going to bring the budget. God is my witness. I shouldn’t have brought all these because we are trying to see how we can mend fences. We kept mum, hoping the governor would do the right thing.
“From September, the governor has been spending without our approval. He has been awarding contracts to his cronies, especially those who masterminded the burning of the Rivers State House of Assembly. They are mocking us that they have been rewarded for burning the Rivers House of Assembly.
“The governor does not seek the approval of the Rivers Assembly. He has been spending money from his back pocket. The governor’s outburst is the reason for this conference. We need to set the record straight. The Minister of the FCT means well for Rivers State. He wants peace and wants the state to move forward.
“The Minister summoned all the members of the State House of Assembly, and 27 of us were present in that meeting in the official residence of the Minister in Abuja. The governor sat with us, and we had a meeting with him. We were shocked to hear the governor say that no meeting had been called.
“Let us also inform Rivers people that after the emergency rule, the FCT minister also caused a meeting to take place at the residence of Chief Anabraba in GRA Port Harcourt.
“We had the meeting of the Elders’ Council, and in that meeting, some members were present. How many meetings does the governor want the FCT minister to call for him to do the needful? Is it 100? We didn’t want to do this press conference because we have resolved following the interventions of Mr President to sheathe our swords to allow peace to reign.
“We didn’t want to speak to the press so as not to heat the polity. We kept quiet even when he refused to bring his appropriation bill”.
Amaewhule said as part of their investigations about what transpired during the emergency rule, they discovered that the outgone Rivers Administrator left a whopping N600bn in the accounts of Rivers State.
He said perhaps the governor’s anger was that the House Committee on Education submitted a report that highlighted the collapse of educational infrastructures in the state under Fubara.
Amaewhule said: “Part of what we have found out that transpired during the emergency rule is that the outgone administrator left over N600bn in the account of Rivers State. The governor has been boasting about how he will use the funds to divide the assembly and buy the members.
“The governor needs to know that members of the assembly are not for sale. The 27 of us remain committed to the dreams and aspirations of the people and to our constituents. We are prepared to serve Rivers and to do the needful.
“The governor’s outburst disparaging the FCT minister will not help him. The governor does not need to react in a reactionary way just because of the report of the House Committee on Education. The governor should know that as a governor, he ought to be a leader. At the moment he is failing.
“He doesn’t want to be a leader. His outburst does not show him as a leader. He is sending his attack dogs to insult us on social media. This will not help him. He gives them money everyday to insult us. It will not help him. All those things are not in the best interest of Rivers.
“He needs to show leadership. We are debunking the governor’s assertions. We have been meeting with him, but he has failed to keep to the terms. He doesn’t want to keep to the terms. But we will remain calm”.
The governor was compelled to explain the N600bn he inherited from Ibas. He said: “I want to say to the world that when we left during the emergency rule, our records are there. We left over N300bn, and when we came back, we met about N600bn. Every penny that we are spending the records are there, and evidence of it will be shown between now and the next six months.
“So, there is no issue with what we are doing with our money, or with the money we met. At least nobody can take away my sincerity. I am not associated with anything that has to do with fraudulent acts”.
The main problem
The brickbats opened a can of fresh political wounds, revealing reasons behind the uprising. It was all about failures to keep agreements. The agreements that facilitated the truce had been breached. During one of his visits to local government areas, Wike accused Fubara of flouting the terms of the peace pact. The Minister said the agreement was entered into under the supervision of President Tinubu. He vowed to disclose the terms of the agreement.
Though there has not been an official confirmation of the agreement the governor entered into with the camp of Wike, sources disclosed that Fubara agreed to concede the local government areas to his boss, allowing Wike to produce all the chairmen and councillors of the 23 local government areas. He was said to have agreed that he would not seek a second term and that he would present a supplementary budget to complement the 2025 Budget passed for the state under Ibas by the National Assembly.
The governor was said to have agreed that he would drop Dr. Tammy Danagogo as the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) and reinstate Ohna Sergeant Chidi Awuse as the Chairman of Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers, as well as drop Edison Ehie as his Chief of Staff, among others.
The lawmakers and members of the Wike political camp are accusing the governor of being a serial violator of agreements. They believed that Fubara could no longer be trusted. They wondered why the governor was fond of entering into agreements that he was not willing to fulfil. An official of the Rivers State House of Assembly, who spoke in confidence, said the governor was neither coerced nor persuaded to enter into the agreements that returned him to power after the emergency rule.
The source said: “When he discovered that if he failed to settle with Wike and the lawmakers, the President might extend the emergency rule, the governor went alone to meet with the lawmakers and Wike. He was the one who proposed most of the conditions in the agreement. He told them he was only interested in completing his first tenure.
“He also said they should produce all the local government chairmen and councillors. He begged them and vowed that he would keep the terms of the agreement. He even asked the Minister to nominate his commissioners. But the Minister declined the offer and told him to nominate members of his cabinet, but that the assembly would dutifully screen the nominees.
“It was after that meeting that they all went to see the President, where they told President Bola Tinubu all that they agreed. The President advised the governor on the need to keep the terms of the agreement and also told him about his experience in Lagos. So, nobody forced Governor Fubara to enter into the agreement.
“Immediately, he was reinstated, the governor started singing another song. In one of the meetings he held with the lawmakers, they asked him to bring a supplementary budget to facilitate the correction of some of the financial mistakes he made. He bluntly told them that he would not do anything like that.
“The governor’s intention was to operate the 2025 budget approved for the state by the National Assembly, taking advantage of the extra six months window allowed by the constitution, and that will be close to an election period when all attention will shift from governance to election. The lawmakers can no longer trust him.”
Some stakeholders insisted that Fubara should clarify the terms of the truce. Robinson Ewor, a factional Caretaker Committee Chairman of the PDP in the state, appealed to the governor to disclose the agreement to Rivers people.
Ewor said: “In all the places the FCT Minister visited and made speeches, he said agreements were reached before the lifting of the state of emergency and before President Tinubu.
“One of the things he highlighted is that the governor agreed before the President not to run for a second term. The governor agreed that he would drop Tammy Danagogo as the Secretary to the State Government. Ordinarily, these issues wouldn’t have bothered us because he is no longer a member of the PDP.
“But because we are Rivers people, we elected him and gave him a mandate for a period of four years, all his actions directly or indirectly affect us as a people. It is based on this that we demand that the governor should come out clean and tell Rivers all the things they agreed before the state of emergency was lifted”.
But Fubara has remained mute, failing to speak on the agreements he reached with the lawmakers and the Minister.
The anger of the lawmakers boiled over, compelling them to initiate a fresh move to remove the governor. The Speaker Amaewhule-led House of Assembly, in a televised sitting, resolved to serve a notice of impeachment on the governor and his deputy, Prof. Ngozi Odu. The House sent two documents containing allegations of gross misconduct to Fubara and his deputy. The lawmakers gave them seven days to respond to the accusations in line with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
Can Fubara survive another impeachment move?
Most of the allegations contained in the notice that was recently served on the governor bordered on financial recklessness; spending from the consolidated revenue without recourse to the approval of the House of Assembly. The lawmakers cited many examples of such expenditures. But most people believe that the Amaewhule’s House may find it difficult to remove the governor.
First, Fubara’s smart move to the APC with his followers would surely slow down any attempt to bundle him out of office. Already, APC governors and the party’s National Working Committee were said to have rallied round the governor. As one of theirs, they were said to be doing everything possible to protect the governor. Besides, the lawmakers and loyalists of the FCT Minister are members of the same party as Fubara, while their principal, Wike, is a leader of the opposition PDP. It was learnt that the NWC was making sure that the issues were settled internally within the party.
Besides, it was further gathered that President Tinubu, who has been playing a father figure in the Rivers crisis was not disposed to impeachment. The President was said to have intervened to ensure that the impeachment notice was withdrawn by the lawmakers. But the President reportedly insisted that the governor must honour the agreement as a precondition for the withdrawal of the impeachment notice.
Signs that the parties were beginning to mend their fences emerged following the moves by some state lawmakers to appeal to their colleagues to temper justice with mercy.
The Minority Leader of the House, Sylvanus Nwankwo and the member representing Degema Constituency, Peter Abbey, were the first to appeal.
Sylvanus claimed that after a plethora of calls and pleas from various elders and leaders within and outside the state, there was a need to seek an amicable resolution of the matter.
While admitting that Fubara allegedly violated some aspects of the constitution, Sylvanus said the issues could still be handled outside the impeachment process.
He said: “You are all aware that the Rivers State House of Assembly issued a notice of impeachment on the governor and his deputy. But we are appealing to our fellow colleagues to temper justice with mercy.
“Let us see how we can solve this matter outside of impeachment proceedings. We are appealing to the conscience of our fellow colleagues, having listened to many pleas, calls from our elders and leaders both within and outside the state, begging for leniency.
“We are begging our colleagues to reconsider our steps and see how this matter can be resolved amicably, even though the governor and the deputy governor had infringed the constitution”.
Abbey, on his part, urged Fubara to henceforth stop taking steps that could lead to the violation of any part of the Constitution to facilitate the resolution of the matter.
He said: “The governor has infringed on parts of the Constitution. But we are human beings, and we want to plead with our colleagues to please reconsider. You don’t swing an axe the way you raise it. But the governor must also take steps not to infringe further on the constitution to bring an amicable solution”.
Two female members of the House, Barile Nwakoh, representing Khana Constituency I, and Emilia Amadi, representing Wike’s Obio/Akpor Constituency II, made a similar appeal.
The legislators said that though the governor and his deputy might have breached the constitution, they were moved by pressure from respected leaders and stakeholders to calm down for an amicable resolution of the matter.
For instance, the two female lawmakers said: “One of the significance of the move by the lawmakers was that none of them denounced their signatories to the impeachment notice. They unanimously indicted the governor but vehemently called for a political solution instead of the outright removal of Fubara.
“The governor has seriously abandoned the agreement entered into in the past with the supervision of Mr President in a bid to find a lasting solution to the constitutional infractions.
“This cast serious doubts on why any person should trust him. However, we have been inundated with calls from some of our leaders and Rivers people begging that we seek a political solution to this problem created by the governor and his deputy.
“We, hereby, state our willingness to look at a political solution rather than an outright removal of the duo. We call our members to also consider this approach. We did not say this as a sign of weakness but because we have forgiving hearts and as mothers”.
In fact, other interventions further mounted heavy pressure on the lawmakers to seek other ways of resolving the crisis. Some prominent groups led by respected leaders, such as the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) and the Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers, immediately set up a committee comprising famous leaders to wade into the crisis.
Permanent solution
Evidently, it seems a truce is being brokered to avert the impeachment. The House was supposed to reconvene on Thursday to act on the impeachment notice, but the lawmakers failed to do so following feelers that negotiations were still on to broker a fresh truce.
But stakeholders appealed to the governor to do everything within his power to find a way to work with the legislature. They advised that parties to agreements must learn to honour them or renegotiate their terms to avert a crisis.
While commending the governor for meeting some of the terms, they called on him to fulfil the rest and amicably renegotiate them to ensure permanent peace in the state. Observers also called on members of the House of Assembly to soft-pedal and embrace dialogue as a veritable tool for resolving crises.
• Assembly asks CJ to raise panel to probe allegations against gov
• State High Court bars him from constituting panel
• Why peace deal, fence-mending failed, by legislators
• Lawmakers got N350m constituency allowance each under Ibas – Fubara’s aide
It is now up to Rivers State Chief Judge, Justice Simeon Chubuzor Amadi, to choose between the call from the State Assembly to him to set up a panel to probe its allegations against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu, and the interim injunction by a court restraining him (CJ) from receiving or acting on any notice to impeach the governor and his deputy.
Both choices were placed before Justice Amadi yesterday.
Having waited for seven days without receiving a response from Fubara on the allegations of misconduct it sent to him, the State Assembly reconvened yesterday in Port Harcourt and directed the CJ to establish a seven-member committee to begin the process of removing the governor and his deputy.
Simultaneously, a state high court sitting in Oyigbo Local Government Area issued an interim injunction restraining him from receiving, forwarding, considering or acting on any request, resolution, articles of impeachment or any form of communication from Speaker Martin Amaewhule and other members of the State House of Assembly for the purpose of constituting a panel to investigate the alleged misconduct against the governor and his deputy.
But the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF), which announced last week that it had set up a high powered committee to reconcile the feuding sides in the Rivers imbroglio, was optimistic yesterday that truce was around the corner.
Chairman of PANDEF, Ambassador Boladei Igali, said the committee met with Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike in Abuja on Thursday and had scheduled separate meetings with Fubara and other stakeholders for last night in Port Harcourt.
The Rivers State legislators claimed yesterday that the governor and his deputy had no intention of stopping their alleged disobedience of the Constitution.
They accused Fubara and Odu of mastering the act of manipulating leaders and public opinion against the House rather than retracing their steps.
“The governor and his deputy are acting as if the Rivers State House of Assembly does not exist,” the lawmakers said.
Continuing, they said: “They (gov and dep.gov) are boasting that members cannot enforce the constitution. It seems like the governor and his deputy are above the law and will continue to do whatever they like against the arm of the government that is empowered to check the executive.
“While members were considering calls from the stakeholders, the governor and his deputy were busy using various platforms to attack us in the media, misinforming the public and trying to use some state institutions like the EFCC to intimidate us.
“They have refused to respond to any of the allegations and particulars of gross misconduct but would use innuendos of ‘barking dogs’ to spite us and insisting that they will not respect the legislature or work with members of the Assembly.”
The lawmakers said many of the stakeholders asking them to rescind their decision were not willing to advise the governor to do the right thing.
They said: “The governor is the aggressor, serial offender of our constitution and a serious threat to our democracy. The sure path to a sustainable peace and progress of our state is the rule of law, separation of power and respect for the Constitution.
“In a bid to gain and win sympathy for the governor and the deputy governor, many who don’t mean well for Rivers simply reduced everything to a disagreement between our political leader and the governor.
“But the real problem is that the governor and his deputy are at fault with the grundnorm to achieve their political goals. We urge the people of Rivers to read the notice of allegations against the governor.”
The legislators blamed the governor for the failure of previous efforts to resolve the crisis because, according to them, he refused to adhere to any agreement.
“It is obvious that the only solution now is to apply the solution prescribed by the 1999 Constitution as altered, which is the impeachment of the governor and his deputy,” they said and appealed to the people of the state to “carefully consider the problem at hand and understand that the impeachment process is the best way to go at this point.”
They thanked President Bola Tinubu who, according to them, “has demonstrated so much love for Rivers in resolving this crisis but the governor and his deputy are adamant.”
They vowed to continue to “defend you and the constitution of the country.”
The legislators were soon rejoined by their four colleagues who had earlier called for leniency for the governor, and adoption of political solution.
The lawmakers backed the impeachment process against Fubara and Odu, saying the duo had refused to retrace their steps.
One of them, Minority Leader Sylvanus Nwankwo (Omuma constituency), said the governor refused to seek political solution to the crisis.
He accused Fubara and Odu of sending their aides to attack members of the s State House of Assembly.
He said: “Recall that on January 12, myself and my colleague, Peter Abbey, addressed the press, wherein we made a plea to our colleagues to seek a political solution to this impasse that is going on between the Assembly and the governor.”
“During the pendency of this appeal, we found that the governor and the deputy had implored their media boys and aides to continuously attack the Rivers State House of Assembly instead of seeking a political solution that we offered.
“It is on this basis that I and my colleague are saying that the impeachment proceeding should continue. We have rescinded our plea.”
Bariele Nwako, who similarly dropped their appeal for a political solution, said: “Regrettably, the governor and the deputy governor have sent signals to us that they are not prepared to retrace their steps and govern in line with the constitution; they are adamant.
“Their strategy is to intimidate us into withdrawing the impeachment process for the third time while they continue their infractions of the Constitution and the law. On this note, we are continuing with the impeachment process.”
Emilia Lucky-Amadi said: “The governor and deputy are ignoring us; they are insisting that they will not govern in line with the constitution, and nothing will happen.
“There are strong indications that they are adamant with their decisions to continue with illegal actions and are boasting that we do not matter and cannot perform oversight functions.”
Moments after addressing the public, the assembly reconvened and directed Chief Judge Amadi to constitute a seven-member committee to begin the process of removing Fubara and Odu.
Citing relevant sections of the constitution at yesterday’s plenary session of the House, Speaker Amaewhule said the process of removing the governor and his deputy would continue with or without their responses to the allegations against them.
His words: “Distinguished colleagues, let me read what is provided in the constitution. It states within 14 days of the presentation of the notice to the Speaker of the House of Assembly, whether or not any statement was made by the holder of the office in reply to the allegation contained in the notice, the House of Assembly shall resolve by motion, without any delay, whether or not the allegation shall be investigated.”
He subsequently asked the members to vote on whether the allegations of misconduct against the governor and the deputy governor be investigated or not.
All members, including the four who had earlier publicly opted out of the impeachment move, voted in support of investigation.
He then said: “Distinguished colleagues, by this voting, the Rivers State House of Assembly has resolved that the investigations against allegations of gross misconduct leveled against His Excellency the governor of Rivers State shall proceed.
“By virtue of Section 188 subsection 5, I will ensure that the resolution of this House is immediately communicated to the Chief Judge.”
Amaewhule, in the letter to the Chief judge, said: “I write to request that you appoint a panel of seven (7) persons to investigate the allegations of gross misconduct against His Excellency, Sir Siminalaye Fubara the Governor of Rivers State pursuant to section 188(5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).
“The House resolved in compliance with section 188(4) of the Constitution that these allegations be investigated.”
Attached to the letter were copies of the Notice of Allegations of Gross Misconduct; acknowledged copy of the Notice of Allegations of Gross Misconduct; copies of the Rivers State Impeachment Panel (Conduct of Investigations) Procedure, 2025; photocopies of newspaper publications of The Nation, The Guardian and The Sun, as well as other relevant documents.
Fubara, Odu secure court order to stop impeachment
Fubara and Odu yesterday approached and got an interim injunction from the State High Court in Oyigbo Local Government Area to stop their planned impeachment.
Justice F.A. Fiberesima restrained Chief Judge Amadi from receiving, forwarding, considering and or however acting on any request, resolution, articles of impeachment or other document or communication from one to twenty-seventh defendants (the Speaker and other members of the State Assembly) for the purposes of constituting a panel to investigate the purported allegations of misconduct against the governor and his deputy for seven days.
The court also granted leave to the claimants/ applicants to serve the interim order, the originating processes in the suits and all other subsequent processes.
The court directed that the interim order, the originating processes in the suits to be served on the 32 defendants and the Chief Judge of the state through any staff of Judiciary at the Chief Judge’s Chambers within the court premises.
Hearing in the case was adjourned to the 23rd of January, 2026.
PANDEF intensifies peace efforts
Contacted yesterday on the peace initiative of PANDEF, the National Chairman of the foremost South South group, Ambassador Igali, said the committee chairman informed him that he had a successful meeting with Wike on Thursday while further meetings with other stakeholders, including Fubara, were on the cards.
“As at today, members of the committee are holding meetings with other stakeholders including the governor. As we are talking they are with the governor right now holding a meeting. Let us allow them to do their job,” he said.
He added: “They are senior and mature people and elder statesmen and women. When your children have a misunderstanding you go with an open heart to make peace. PANDEF is a non-partisan body and we are all elders.
“We picked people who cannot be influenced and people of high moral standing, who can give clear and objective advice in the interest of the parties, the state and the country.
“Rivers state is an important state. Things that are happening to Rivers state are critical to the national economy and even the global energy situation. PANDEF, under my leadership, cannot fold its hands and watch.
“Rivers State elders have shown courage. But some of the parties may take them for granted because they are in the local scene. We are only joining their efforts to make peace and we will get there.
“In this world, men must have conflict. But at the end of the conflict, it is the negotiation table that solves everything. It is better to jaw-jaw than to war-war. We are looking at a win-win situation where there is no winner and no loser.
“I am optimistic that the team PANDEF has picked are people that have the panache and the experience and knowledge to broker peace.
“The whole country is waiting on them. Yesterday (Thursday) the chairman of the committee said he had a successful meeting with the minister of the FCT in Abuja.
“Members of the committee proceeded to Port Harcourt and since morning they have been holding meetings with different groups. They will be there till early next week and by God’s grace we will get somewhere.
“Mr President has tried his best so we are trying to complement his efforts.”
Lawmakers got N350m each for constituency projects, says Fubara’s aide
A Special Adviser to Governor Fubara, Darlington Orji, alleged yesterday that members of the Rivers State House of Assembly received N350 million each for constituency projects.
He said the funds were disbursed during the tenure of former Sole Administrator Ibok-Ete Ibas.
Orji made the allegation yesterday while appearing on Arise Television’s Morning Show, where he addressed questions surrounding the budget process and recent tensions between the executive and the legislature.
Orji said the N100,000 offered the assemblymen for Christmas was the same amount given to civil servants.
Orji could not understand the rejection of the money by the legislators, claiming that the same people had previously accepted N350 million each for constituency projects without raising concerns about appropriation.
He said: “You know that in preparing budget, there are too many things that will be improved that will make up the appropriation bill. And when they say their interest was not captured, and the man (Fubara) said, don’t worry, by December.
“So the specific amount I do not know as it stands today, because that presentation was not made because His Excellency, the governor, refused to accept that. But don’t forget, in December, there was N100,000 that was given to civil servants as a way of appreciating them. It was also given to the members of Rivers. Some people rejected the money.
“They rejected it, that it was not appropriated. You cannot build something on nothing. Now, you rejected N100,000 because it was not appropriated. Can you ask them, please, sir, the N350 million that was given to each of them for their constituency projects, where did it come from? Why did they not reject it since it was not appropriated?
“It was Ibok-Ete Ibas, the Sole Administrator, after the signing of the Appropriation Act, that the budget had been passed to law, it was there they gave them the money. Why did they not say it was not captured?”
Last Sunday, the Chairman of the Rivers House Committee on Information, Petitions and Complaints, Dr. Enemi Alabo George, alleged that the Assembly had received “credible information” on alleged moves by certain individuals to secure ex parte orders from outside the Port Harcourt Judicial Division to prevent the legislature from carrying out its constitutional responsibilities.
He said the impeachment process was “fully on course in line with relevant provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).”
“The two notices of allegations of gross misconduct brought pursuant to Section 188 of the Constitution against the Governor and Deputy Governor have been forwarded to them by the Speaker of the House, while we await their responses.”
Section 188 of the 1999 Constitution stipulates as follows:(1) The Governor or Deputy Governor of a state may be removed from office in accordance with the provisions or Deputy Governor of this section.
(2) Whenever a notice of any allegation in writing signed by not less than one-third of the members of the House of Assembly.
(b) stating that the holder of such office is guilty of gross misconduct in the performance of the functions of his office, detailed particulars of which shall be specified. the speaker of the House of Assembly shall, within seven days of the receipt of the notice, cause a copy of the notice to be served on the holder of the office and on each member of the House of Assembly, and shall also cause any statement made in reply to the allegation by the holder of the office, to be served on each member of the House of Assembly.
(3) Within fourteen days of the presentation of the notice to the speaker of the House of Assembly (whether or not any statement was made by the holder of the office in reply to the allegation contained in the notice-, the House of Assembly shall resolve by motion, without any debate whether or not the allegation shall be investigated.
(4) A motion of the House of Assembly that the allegation be investigated shall not be declared as having been passed unless it is supported by the votes of not less than two-thirds majority of all the members of the House of Assembly.
(5) Within seven days of the passing of a motion under the foregoing provisions of this section, the Chief judge of the State shall at the request of the speaker of the House of Assembly, appoint a Panel of seven persons who in his opinion are of unquestionable integrity, not being members of any public service, legislative house or political party, to investigate the allegation as provided in this section.
(6) The holder of an office whose conduct is being investigated under this section shall have the right to defend himself in person or be represented before the panel by a legal practitioner of his own choice.
(7) A Panel appointed under this section shall-
(a) have such powers and exercise its functions in accordance with such procedure as may be prescribed by the House of Assembly; and within three months ot its appointment, report its findings to the House of Assembly.
(8) Where the Panel reports to the House of Assembly that the allegation has not ben proved,no further proceedings shall be taken in respect of the matter.
(9)Where the report of the Panel is that the allegation against the holder of the office has been proved, then within fourteen days of the receipt of the report, the House of Assembly shall consider the report, and if by a resolution of the House of Assembly supported by not less than two-thirds majority of all its members, the report of the Panel is adopted, then the holder of the office shall stand removed from office as from the date of the adoption of the report.
(10)No proceedings of determination of the Panel or of the House of Assembly or any matter relating to such proceedings shall be entertained or questioned in court.
A senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Asiwaju Kunle Kalejaye told The Nation yesterday that under the law, the Chief Judge “cannot refuse to act unless there is a legal impediment which forbids him from acting.”
“I submit that if there is a valid court order barring the CJ from empanelling, then as a law officer he must respect the order.
“I am not unaware of the provisions of Section 188(10) which preclude judicial Interference with the process but I am of the view that only the panel or the House of Assembly cannot be stopped. But the appointor- the CJ-could be stopped by a court order if there are legal reasons to do so.
“Important requirements:
The panel members must be persons of unquestionable integrity.
They must not be public officers.
They must not be members of any political party.
“This is very important. The Chief Judge must be well guided by this provision as he is not at liberty to appoint people of questionable character or fill the committee with known enemies of the Governor or the Deputy.
“Politicians are excluded. The law allows the CJ to choose even non indigenes of the state who fit the criteria.
“Also the panel must allow legal representation for the Governor or Deputy. The panelists need not be lawyers or Judges. Members of the larger society with ability to understand the purport of the allegations and take a reasonable decision thereon.”
Another senior advocate, Chief Wale Taiwo, said: “Although the Chief Judge is under no constitutional duty to share the power of appointment of the seven persons with his brother Judges, it will not be a bad exercise of power to consult his learned brothers, particularly the most senior ones.
“It will not be wrong if he asks them for names. The CJ is not bound by the names they send to him but at the end of the day, there will be mutuality of confidence in the matter and that is good both for the Chief Judge and his learned brother Judges.
“The Chief Judge is a man of law and good judgment and should be trusted to take decisions with egalitarian outlook. The search for membership of the Panel need not be confined to the geographical territory of the State.
“The Constitution does not so restrict the appointment. A member can be picked and appointed from another state. He could be an indigene of the state. He need not be.
“As a matter of law, the search could go to the Diaspora, if necessary, with a view to ensuring that the essence of checks and balances inherent in Section 188(5) is observed.
“Beyond the foregoing, however, is the obvious socio-political fall out that may attend such panel’s membership and the execution of its mandate. Thus, care must be taken to avoid a panel which may be at risk of not bringing about a genuine outcome.”
