Immediate former governor of Rivers State and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has said that nothing catastrophic would occur if the Rivers State House of Assembly, led by Martins Amaewhule, proceeds with the impeachment of Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
Speaking during a media parley in Abuja on Wednesday, Wike stated that there was nothing unusual about a state legislature removing a sitting governor over alleged impeachable offences, including claims that Fubara withheld lawmakers’ salaries for several months.
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) stalwart said, “If you have committed an offence to be impeached, what’s wrong? Is it a criminal offence? It’s provided in the constitution. Am I a member of the Assembly?
“If you have committed an infraction of the constitution and the Assembly deems it fit to say, you should be impeached.
“I have heard people say: ‘Oh, if they impeach him, there will be a breakdown of law and order’. Rubbish! Nothing will happen.”
Wike also dismissed suggestions that the Assembly was acting in bad faith, noting that if the lawmakers were not interested in peace, they would have embarked on a six-month recess after the Supreme Court’s verdict on the state’s political crisis.
He also criticised a recent letter written by Governor Fubara to the Assembly, stating that the governor could have handled the matter more appropriately.
Tribune Online reports that Fubara was on Wednesday locked out of the temporary Rivers State House of Assembly complex along Aba Road in Port Harcourt, where he was scheduled to re-present the 2025 budget.
The governor arrived at the Assembly complex with his entourage but met the entrance gate locked.
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Governor Fubara stated that he had notified the Speaker, Martins Amaewhule, of his intention to re-present the budget through a formal letter.
He added that efforts to reach the Speaker by phone since Tuesday had been unsuccessful.
The lawmakers had earlier given the governor a 48-hour ultimatum to re-present the budget, which had initially been passed by a four-member faction of the Assembly loyal to him.
In their resolution, signed by the Speaker, the lawmakers stated, “Pursuant to the order of the Supreme Court in Suit No. SC/CV/1174/2024, which calls for the stoppage of Statutory Federal allocations to the Rivers State Government and the halting of spending from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of Rivers State until an Appropriation Bill is passed, you are requested to present the 2025 Appropriation Bill to the House in accordance with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution as amended. The House expects you to present the 2025 Appropriation Bill within 48 hours.”
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