The Rivers State House of Assembly has dismissed claims that the ongoing impeachment process against Governor Siminalayi Fubara is being influenced by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
The Assembly’s spokesperson, Enemi George, stated this in an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday.
He insisted that lawmakers are acting strictly within constitutional provisions and not at the behest of any political figure.
Responding to questions on whether Wike played a role in the impeachment, George said mixing politics with constitutional responsibilities would be dangerous.
He emphasised that the House should not be reduced to the influence of an individual, describing such claims as “unfair and demeaning” to the legislature.
“This is pouring oil into water, and those two don’t mix unless boiled. The FCT minister is a politician. If we begin to mix politics and constitutional matters, we will begin to cause trouble.
“I am not a party chief but a spokesperson of the Rivers State House of Assembly. Personally, I am politically aligned with the FCT minister, but it is insulting to reduce the activities of an institution created by the Constitution to just politics or an individual,” he said.
No going back on impeaching Fubara
Asked whether the assembly would consider any political intervention to stop the process, George said there is no room for a political solution to halt the ongoing impeachment proceedings.
He stressed that lawmakers are committed to following due process.
“So I very sincerely doubt that because we’ve had one too many political solutions. But it demeans and diminishes the institution of the House if you say that everything we do is because of politics. Right now, what we’re talking about is the law.
“Even if you want to play politics, most people, according to the law, if they breach the Constitution repeatedly, you can’t rely on political fixes.
“The governor is a recidivist. In legal parlance, a recidivist is somebody who commits the same crime repeatedly. He’s punished or forgiven, and then he repeats the offence. So what’s the need for a political solution?” George added.
Impeachment proceedings
The comments came hours after the Rivers Assembly, led by Speaker Martin Amaewhule, formally commenced impeachment proceedings against Governor Fubara and his deputy, Professor Ngozi Odu, during a plenary session on Thursday.
The Majority Leader, Major Jack, presented a notice signed by 26 lawmakers, outlining multiple allegations of gross misconduct against the governor.
The alleged charges include extra-budgetary spending of over N800 billion without legislative approval, withholding funds allocated to the Assembly Service Commission, demolition of the Assembly complex, and defiance of Supreme Court rulings on legislative autonomy.
A separate notice was also read against the deputy governor for allegedly conniving in unconstitutional expenditures.
Speaker Amaewhule announced that the notices would be served on the governor and his deputy within seven days, in line with the Constitution.
The development marks a renewed escalation in the protracted political crisis in Rivers State, stemming from the fallout between Governor Fubara and his predecessor, FCT Minister Nyesom Wike.
Previous impeachment attempts in 2023 and 2025 were halted by presidential interventions and a state of emergency was declared by President Bola Tinubu.
In a related reaction, the Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, the party to which both Fubara and the pro-Wike lawmakers belong, has rejected the impeachment move, describing it as “untenable” and warning of potential instability.
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