The Rivers State House of Assembly, under the leadership of Martin Amaewhule, on Thursday failed to resume plenary, exactly one week after adjourning its last sitting.
The development has further deepened political tensions in the state following the Assembly’s move to initiate impeachment proceedings against Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Odu, over alleged gross misconduct.
At its sitting last Thursday, the House cited several allegations against the governor and his deputy, including the demolition of the Assembly complex and expenditure without legislative approval, as grounds for the impeachment process.
The Clerk of the Assembly was directed to serve an impeachment notice on Governor Fubara, granting him seven days to respond to the allegations. The House subsequently adjourned plenary to Thursday, January 15, 2026.
However, when The Punch visited the Assembly on Thursday, there was no indication that plenary would hold, with lawmakers conspicuously absent and no official explanation issued.
Reacting to the situation, a top government official, who spoke to Punch on condition of anonymity, ridiculed the lawmakers, describing their conduct as more suited to the Nollywood movie industry than governance.
“The other time, they sat and gave the governor one week to respond to allegations against him and all the rest. Now these people are like Nollywood ‘players’. They can act,” the official said.
He added sarcastically, “I don’t even know what they are doing in politics instead of going into Nollywood so that they can produce good movies.”
The official also commented on rumours making the rounds over an alleged attempt to impeach Speaker Amaewhule, which may have influenced the Assembly’s failure to reconvene.
“What I heard, because I’m not close to any of the Assembly members, was that there was an attempt to impeach the Speaker, Martin Amaewhule, today, but I think he got wind of it and decided not to reconvene the House,” he said.
Warning that the political manoeuvring may backfire, the official likened the situation to a reversal of roles.
“But you know an animal that removes itself from a trap set is still in the bush. Let’s see how far they can run at the end of the day. If that is true, you see that the hunter has become the hunted,” he added.