The All Progressives Congress (APC) has instructed its members in the state House of Assembly to initiate impeachment proceedings against Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
The move comes in response to Governor Fubara’s recent statements questioning the legality of the state’s House of Assembly and his refusal to honour a peace agreement brokered by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Chairman of the APC in Rivers State, Chief Tony Okocha, announced the decision during a press conference held in Port Harcourt on Tuesday.
He cited Governor Fubara’s alleged insult to the sensibility of President Tinubu and his failure to adhere to the peace agreement as reasons for the impeachment call.
The rift between Governor Fubara and the state legislature escalated following the passage of the Rivers State Public Procurement (Amendment) Bill, 2024.
The Assembly, led by Speaker Rt. Hon. Martin Amaewhule overrode the governor’s veto on the bill, leading to tension between the executive and legislative branches of the state government.
Governor Fubara, in response, criticised the Assembly’s actions and asserted his authority, stating that the lawmakers would cease to exist if he deemed it so.
He reiterated his position during a meeting with a delegation of political and traditional leaders from Bayelsa State, emphasising that the Assembly members’ existence relied solely on his recognition.
The governor’s stance has deepened the political crisis in the state, with both sides refusing to back down. Despite efforts to resolve the conflict, Governor Fubara lamented that each meeting resulted in new dimensions of the crisis emerging.
Fubara’s declaration that the APC lawmakers do not exist in the eyes of the law has further fueled tensions, prompting the party to escalate its efforts to remove him from office.
President Bola Tinubu initiated a peace agreement between Fubara and the Minister of the federal capital territory, FCT, Nyesom Wike.
However, Fubara had declared, for the first time since the commencement of the crisis, that the APC lawmakers do not exist in the eyes of the law, adding that,
Those group of men who claim that they are Assembly members, they are not existing…their existence and whatever they have been doing is because I allow them to do so. If I don’t recognise them, they are nowhere.
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