EFCC dragged in | PDP kicks | Group sets terms for impeachment
By Kelechi Boms, Port Harcourt
The Rivers State House of Assembly has formally commenced the constitutional process to impeach Governor Simi Fubara and Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu, following allegations of significant breaches of official duties.
This followed an announcement made on the floor of the house by
the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Martin Chike Amaewhule, on Monday that he has received a notice of allegation of gross misconduct against the governor and his deputy, Prof. Ngozi Odu.
This is even as the house called in the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) to investigate funds allegedly misappropriated by the Fubara’s administration.
A statement by Martins Wachukwu, Special Assistant On Media to the Speaker, Rivers State House of Assembly and document sighted by SPEAR NEWS revealed that the notice was signed by 26 members of the House, citing five grounds of gross misconduct against the governor and three against his deputy.
However, the opposition federal lawmakers have dismissed the impeachment plot against Governor Fubara and his deputy, labeling it as a politically motivated.
The allegations against Governor Fubara include reckless and unconstitutional expenditure of public funds, hindering or obstructing the Rivers State House of Assembly, and appointing persons to occupy offices without proper screening and confirmation. His deputy, Prof. Odu, is accused of supporting the illegal appointments.
In response to the allegations, the Speaker transmitted the notice to the governor and his deputy, while the House has resolved to publish the notice in at least three national dailies to ensure they are aware of the allegations.
Meanwhile, the House has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate the Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Tammy Danagogo, on allegations of financial misappropriation
Reports indicate the Governor has prevented state officials from attending the House’s invitation, but the Speaker has pledged that the House will continue to perform its constitutional functions.
The Rivers State House of Assembly has also amended its Standing Orders to allow for emergency sittings, if necessary, to address the crisis.
In related development, opposition federal lawmakers have dismissed an impeachment notice against Rivers, Fubara and his deputy by the State Assembly on the ground of his failure to present the 2025 Appropriation Bill, labeling it as a politically motivated.
Spear News reported last week that Governor Fubara, in a letter dated March 13, 2025, informed the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Martins Amaewhule, of his intention to present the 2025 budget on March 19, 2025, or any other day within the month. This followed an incident where the governor was seen locked out of the Assembly complex.
However in a statement on Momdt, the opposition federal lawmakers, through their spokesperson, Hon. Ikenga Ugochinyere, criticised the State Assembly members, accusing them of attempting to incite crisis and raise tensions in the state.
Ugochinyere described the impeachment move as illegal and a desperate ploy to divert attention from the Assembly’s refusal to accept the budget, which he claimed was driven by “evil interests” to inflict suffering on the people of Rivers State.
The lawmakers emphasized that a valid court judgment currently bars the Assembly from initiating any impeachment proceedings against Governor Fubara. They asserted that the impeachment notice was a baseless fabrication aimed at undermining the governor and disrupting the scheduled budget presentation.
“There is still a valid court judgement barring them from commencing any impeachment move and as long as that order remains, they can only dream of removing Fubara to help their political masturbation but in reality Fubara is above their dreams.
“These guys are local political blackmailers and propagandists, they suffered Rivers State up to Supreme court and when they won on the budget, the governor compiled and presented the budget and they ran away from receiving him meaning their interest is not the budget but to ensure the people of Rivers their own people suffer and die from hunger.”
The statement further accused the pro-Wike lawmakers of fabricating allegations, including age falsification, against the Chief Judge, whom they had previously cleared. Ugochinyere claimed this was an attempt to intimidate the judiciary into supporting their agenda, which he said had already failed.
He said: “The Governor wrote another letter to them and they claimed to have gone on recess on Friday evening and now suddenly the people who went on recess on Friday wakes up on Monday to claim they have commenced a purported impeachment, just to distract the slated budget presentation billed for this week.
“They suddenly fabricated allegations of age falsification to the same Chief Judge they once cleared just to see if they can intimidate him into joining their anti-rivers plot, a move that have failed already hence their attempt to undermine the state judiciary for not supporting their plots against their own people.”
The opposition lawmakers also criticized the State Assembly for what they described as contradictory actions, accusing them of refusing to receive the budget and then using the governor’s alleged refusal to present the budget as grounds for impeachment.
“How can you fail to receive budget, run away on the agreed date and claimed to have gone on recess and suddenly in your hideout claimed to have commenced non-existing impeachment on the same grounds of refusal to present budget, when you are the one running away from receiving the budget, so those allegations of imaginary offences are the desperate Abuja conceited offence for their dream of installing speaker who is Wike errand boy as governor, a move that is dead on arrival.”
The lawmakers urged the people of Rivers State to remain calm and disregard what they described as a “kindergarten blackmail” that would ultimately amount to nothing. They reiterated their support for Governor Fubara and called on the State Assembly to prioritize the welfare of Rivers people over political vendettas.
Meanwhile, a group in Rivers group has given condition for Fubara’s mpeachment
The group says Governor Fubara has committed several impeachable offences.
The Rivers Restoration Movement (RRM) has declared that if Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State is impeached, another Ijaw candidate must succeed him to ensure the Ijaw people complete their tenure. Johnson Georgewill, the group’s Director General, made this statement during a press briefing in Port Harcourt on Monday. He emphasized that replacing Fubara with another Ijaw governor would uphold equity and fairness for the Ijaw community.
Georgewill highlighted that the RRM, a political interest group aligned with FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, had worked diligently to ensure an Ijaw candidate emerged as governor in 2023. He also stressed that the Rivers State House of Assembly (RSHA) has a constitutional duty to oversee the Executive Arm of Government.
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