The Rivers State House of Assembly has dismissed claims that the ongoing impeachment proceedings against Governor Siminalayi Fubara are being influenced by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.
The Assembly’s spokesperson, Enemi George, stated this on Thursday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, insisting 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 process, George warned that conflating politics with constitutional responsibilities would be dangerous.
He emphasised that the Rivers State House of Assembly should not be reduced to the influence of any 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,” George said.
“I am not a party chief but the 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 mere politics or the influence of an individual.”
No Going Back on Impeachment
Asked whether the Assembly would consider any political intervention to halt the impeachment process, George said there was no room for political solutions, stressing that lawmakers were committed to due process.
“We’ve had one too many political solutions. It demeans and diminishes the institution of the House if everything we do is reduced to politics. What we are dealing with now is the law,” he said.
He further argued that repeated constitutional breaches could not be resolved through political settlements.
“Even from a political perspective, where there are repeated breaches of the Constitution, you cannot rely on political fixes. The governor is a recidivist. In legal parlance, a recidivist is someone who repeatedly commits the same offence, is punished or forgiven, and then repeats it. So what is the need for a political solution?” George added.
Impeachment Proceedings
The remarks came hours after the Rivers State House of Assembly, led by Speaker Martin Amaewhule, formally commenced impeachment proceedings against Governor Fubara and his deputy, Professor Ngozi Odu, during plenary on Thursday.
The Majority Leader, Major Jack, presented a notice signed by 26 lawmakers, detailing multiple allegations of gross misconduct against the governor. The allegations reportedly include extra-budgetary expenditure of over ₦800 billion without legislative approval, withholding funds allocated to the Assembly Service Commission, demolition of the Assembly complex, and alleged 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 accordance with constitutional provisions.
The development marks a renewed escalation in the prolonged political crisis in Rivers State, following the fallout between Governor Fubara and his predecessor, FCT Minister Nyesom Wike. Previous impeachment attempts in 2023 and 2025 were halted by presidential interventions, while a state of emergency was later declared by President Bola Tinubu.
In a related development, the Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the party to which both Governor Fubara and the pro-Wike lawmakers belong, has rejected the impeachment move, describing it as “untenable” and warning that it could destabilise the state.