Amid the leadership tussle between Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State and his estranged political godfather, Nyesom Wike, minister of the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT) and the breakdown of their peace agreement, the state House of Assembly has initiated an impeachment process against the governor and his deputy, Professor Ngozi Oduh.
Newsmata.com.ng reports that the machinery for Governor Fubara’s impeachment was set in motion on Thursday at plenary presided over by the Speaker of the House Martins Amaewhule, with the Majority Leader, Major Jack, reeling out allegations and gross misconduct against him.
No fewer than 26 lawmakers were said to have signed the impeachment notice, which the legislators claimed aligned with the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution.
Amaewhule announced that the notice would be served on Governor Fubara within the next seven days, in accordance with legislative procedure.
In a similar move, a separate notice of allegations of gross misconduct was raised against Deputy Governor Oduh.
The new twist in the struggle for the Rivers political structure by the duo was a fallout of the stance by the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) that the governor of a state, in line with its policy, is the leader of the party, emphasising that if the minister was desirous of joining the party, he must “certainly be under” Fubara.
The APC Director of Information, Bala Ibrahim, reacting to Wike’s rejection of Fubara’s leadership, insisted that political rules must be respected by everyone, regardless of past influence or prominence.
According to Ibrahim, “It’s a choice for him to be under Fubara. If you follow, you will be followed but if you don’t follow, nobody is going to follow you.
“When he was the governor, he was followed. Now that he is not the governor, he must follow. You can’t carry the position of leadership after vacating the seat”.