The political situation in Rivers State has escalated once again, with the state’s House of Assembly moving ahead with impeachment proceedings against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Prof. Ngozi Oduh.
This marks the third time in less than three years that Fubara has faced such action, signaling the deepening political crisis in the state, which has been further exacerbated by his defection to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The impeachment proceedings were triggered by allegations of gross misconduct and financial impropriety, with eight specific charges laid against the governor.
The allegations were formally read out by Major Jack, the Majority Leader of the House, during a plenary session.
Jack accused the governor of: (1) reckless and unconstitutional expenditure of public funds; (2) unconstitutional misappropriation of public funds; (3) hindering the Rivers State House of Assembly from performing its constitutional duties; (4) illegal appointment of persons without screening by the Assembly as required by the constitution; and (5) seizure of salaries and funds meant for lawmakers.
Other allegations include: (6) seizure of the salary of the Clerk of the House, Emeka Amadi; (7) refusal to implement constitutional provisions on the financial autonomy of the legislature and the judiciary; and (8) withholding of funds meant for the Rivers State House of Assembly Service Commission, thereby hindering its operations.
This action comes after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu brokered several peace deals to calm tensions in the state, including efforts in December 2023 and in 2025.
In March 2025, Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers State after the Assembly initiated impeachment proceedings against him, suspending the governor, his deputy and the lawmakers. Ibok-Ete Ibas was appointed administrator during the emergency rule.
Before the emergency period elapsed, the president brokered peace among the political actors, paving the way for Fubara’s return.
However, Thursday’s action by the Assembly suggests that the latest truce has collapsed.
The governor’s defection to the APC in December 2025 has shifted political dynamics in the state, significantly weakening the influence of Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, who had been a dominant figure in Rivers politics.
The Assembly’s move has been interpreted by political analysts as a power struggle to reassert control, particularly as Fubara’s second-term ambitions become a point of contention.
Allegedly, Wike’s allies in the Assembly pushed for a supplementary budget, which Fubara rejected, citing the N1.48 trillion budget approved during a period of emergency rule.
Following Fubara’s alleged rejection of the supplementary budget, Wike reportedly summoned political allies, including Assembly members, to the residence of an elder statesman, Ferdinand Anabraba, in Port Harcourt, attempting to reassert his influence.
Sources claim that Fubara, sensing the threat to his authority, accelerated his alignment with the APC. “The thinking was that bringing Fubara into the APC would weaken Wike’s leverage,” an insider told Daily Trust.
Fubara was also said to have reneged on the agreements that allegedly required him to reinstate Sergeant Awuse as chairman of the state’s traditional rulers’ council and appoint new commissioners.
“Fubara felt those conditions would completely undermine his authority. That was the final straw,” a source said.
In the Rivers State Assembly, Speaker Martins Amaewhule accused Fubara of undermining the legislature and pointed to his failure to present an appropriation bill for 2026, a move seen as essential for governance.
He further alleged that Fubara had openly described the Assembly as a “toothless bulldog”, claiming that he had sought presidential intervention to curb the legislative body’s authority.
He said: “The particulars of gross misconduct have a lot to do with refusal to present a budget and spending outside the appropriation law.
“There is a notice, and the process of impeachment is on, and having received it, my job is to forward it, and it is important that we allow this process to go through.
“The motion says that in the event that the governor tries, as he has always tried to do, to be smart by half, to now say he wants to bring the Appropriation Bill, or to present the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, let him hold on and allow the investigation of the allegation brought against him and the deputy governor to be concluded.
“In any case, the governor does not want to present any budget, because if he wanted to, he would have brought it all this while.
“Siminalayi Fubara is a mistake; Rivers State has never had it this bad. In the entirety of Nigeria, Siminalayi Fubara and the deputy governor, Prof. Ngozi Odu, are the only ones in office at the sub-national level that are yet to present the 2026 appropriation bill in the entire country.”
He stated that the impeachment move was primarily based on the refusal to present the budget, noting that several meetings had previously been held with President Tinubu and Wike, in an effort to resolve the crisis
Political observers suggest that the impeachment process is not merely a response to the alleged misconduct, but also a consequence of Fubara’s defection to APC, which has shifted the balance of power in the state and weakened Wike’s grip on politics.