Political tension intensified in Rivers State on Thursday as the House of Assembly advanced impeachment proceedings against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and barred him from presenting the state’s Mid-Term Expenditure Framework and 2026 budget, even as the governor reportedly travelled abroad to brief President Bola Tinubu on the escalating crisis.
Sources said Fubara left the country with his unofficial Chief of Staff, Edison Ehie, aboard a state-owned jet to seek an audience with the President, who is currently on vacation in France, amid claims that lawmakers loyal to former governor and FCT Minister Nyesom Wike abruptly commenced impeachment proceedings earlier than expected.
During plenary, the Assembly adopted a motion to probe alleged gross misconduct, including extra-budgetary spending and failure to submit the MTEF, with Speaker Martin Amaewhule insisting, “We will follow due process to the letter. The law must take its full course,” and adding, “This is not about personalities… he is fighting against the Constitution.”
Meanwhile, the political fallout widened as a coalition of APC leaders demanded the removal of Wike as FCT minister over alleged anti-party activities, while the Rivers APC rejected the impeachment move as “untenable” and warned against destabilising the state. Residents and civil voices also faulted the renewed impeachment attempt, describing it as ill-timed and harmful to economic activities.
Defending the Assembly’s stance, its spokesman, Enemi George, said the process was purely constitutional, dismissing claims of external influence and stating, “For anybody to assume that Wike is motivating the lawmakers is to reduce a constitutional matter to a political issue.”
He added that the governor was a “recidivist” who had repeatedly breached constitutional provisions, insisting that “there is no guarantee that he is open to change or repentant,” as the Assembly vowed to pursue the impeachment to its conclusion.