KEY POINTS
• Rivers Assembly alleges attempts to stall impeachment through court orders
• Governor Fubara calls for calm amid rising political tension
• Elders and rights groups warn impeachment could destabilise the state
On Monday, political tensions in Rivers State grew when the House of Assembly claimed that courts outside of Port Harcourt were trying to stop impeachment proceedings against Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
Lawmakers said they had received reliable information that there were plans to stop the process in a statement signed by Enemi Alabo George, chairman of the House Committee on Information, Petitions, and Complaints. The Assembly did not name the people who were supposedly involved, but they did say that the actions were an attempt to undermine constitutional procedures.
The claim comes at a time when the executive and the legislature are at a standstill that has kept the oil-rich state on edge for weeks.
Lawmakers outline allegations against governor
Lawmakers decided last Thursday to look into Fubara’s financial and administrative actions. Deputy Speaker Dumle Maol sponsored the motion, which said that the person had not submitted a Mid Term Expenditure Framework and had spent public money without getting permission from the legislature.
Assembly leaders said that the actions in question were serious violations of the Constitution that made the legislature less powerful. Speaker Martin Amaewhule said that due process would be followed and that the Assembly was ready to see the matter through to its logical end.
Not long after the meeting, impeachment notices for Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Odu, appeared online. The Assembly later confirmed that both officials had received formal notices of alleged gross misconduct under Section 188 of the 1999 Constitution.
As tensions rose, Fubara asked for calm during a church service for Armed Forces Remembrance Day 2026. The governor told the people who were praying that everything would be fine and that he had chosen to stay quiet because of his faith.
Deputy Governor Odu also spoke to the crowd and asked them to stay calm and keep praying for the government.
