Rivers Government Reacts as State Assembly Pushes for Commissioners’ Sack

The Rivers State Government has opposed the directive from the state House of Assembly, led by Speaker Martin Amaewhule, demanding the removal of all commissioners.

The lawmakers, who issued a 48-hour ultimatum to Governor Siminalayi Fubara, insisted that he dismiss his commissioners and submit a fresh list of nominees for screening. 

Reacting, the state government dismissed the directive, calling it unconstitutional and baseless. The Commissioner for Environment, Sydney Tambari, accused the lawmakers of overstepping their powers and acting without legal justification. He stated that all current commissioners had already undergone screening and confirmation by a legally recognized Assembly leadership under former Speaker Edison Ehie. 

“I was screened by Edison Ehie, who was duly recognized by the court as Speaker of the House of Assembly. Before then, this group of people had defected from the PDP and gone to wherever they went to,” Tambari said. He also pointed out that after Ehie resigned, his successor, Victor Oko-Jumbo, continued the process of screening and confirming additional commissioners and political appointees. 

Tambari maintained that the governor had no obligation to submit a fresh list of nominees, as the appointments were legally valid. “The governor cannot send any fresh list of nominees to this Assembly. Their demand for the sacking of the commissioners has been overtaken by events because all appointees were duly screened,” he insisted. 

The commissioner also faulted the lawmakers’ interpretation of the Supreme Court ruling, saying it did not mandate the removal of commissioners or political appointees. According to him, the ruling only addressed the presentation of the 2025 budget and had no bearing on the composition of the executive council. 

“The Supreme Court talked about the budget, not about sacking commissioners. The presentation of the budget is at the discretion of the governor, and this has already been overtaken by events,” Tambari said.