Impeachment: Rivers Chief Judge Obligated To Respect Interim Injunction – APC

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, has said the chief judge of the state, Justice Simeon Amadi, is under obligation to respect the interim order of a High Court on the impeachment proceedings against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Professor Ngozi Odu by the State House of Assembly.

A Rivers State High Court sitting in Oyigbo, Oyigbo local government area of the state, had last Friday issued an interim injunction restraining the Chief Judge of the state from receiving, forwarding, considering and or however acting on any request, resolution, articles of impeachment or other document or communication from the State House  of Assembly.

This was contained in a statement issued in Port Harcourt, the state capital during the weekend by the APC spokesman in the state, Darlington Nwauju.

Nwauju said: “We call on the Honourable Chief Judge of Rivers State, to respect yesterday’s interim injunction in Suit No OYHC/7/CS/2026 that restrained him from receiving/acting on the resolutions of the Rivers State House of Assembly.”

Describing the Impeachment proceedings against the governor and his deputy by members of the House of Assembly as a legislative coup d’etat, the APC spokesman said no matter how beautifully crafted the allegations against the governor and his deputy are, they are still very subjective in the court of public opinion.

The statement reads: “We have painstakingly analysed the issues leading up to the latest step taken today by members of the Rivers State House of Assembly by electing to proceed with the impeachment process against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and Deputy Governor Prof Ngozi Ordu.

“Regrettably, we note that Honourable members who trumpeted loyalty to our party and Mr President can give themselves to the unfolding choreographed legislative coup d’etat against the collective interest, growth and development of our party in the state.

“We warn again that this is a needless legislative overreach having observed the recalcitrance on the part of members of the House of Assembly, including ‘APC’ members.

“It is common knowledge that the Legislature is empowered under Section 129 and 188 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to conduct impeachment. As the ruling party in Rivers State, we are equally aware of the provisions of paragraph (11) of Section 188 which is subject to political interpretation by the Legislature as that paragraph is neither normative nor objective because act(s) that constitute “gross misconduct” is/are what only the legislature deem to be misconduct.

“Thus, no matter how beautifully crafted the allegations against the Governor and his Deputy are, they are still very subjective in the court of public opinion.

This unfortunate path chosen by the legislative arm therefore serves as dangerous footnote to the health and survival of the APC in Rivers State.

“Finally, we call on the national leadership of the party to immediately activate internal mechanisms available to the National Working Committee under Article 21(b)(iii) of the 2022 Constitution (as amended) to save our dear party from an embarrassing situation.”