Impeachment: Rivers Elders Ask Assembly To Exercise Caution

State won’t vote kindergarten gov in 2027– Ex-ANPP chieftain

Amid escalating political tensions in Rivers State, residents and elders have appealed for calm and restraint following the move by the State House of Assembly to commence impeachment proceedings against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Professor Ngozi Odu.

Twenty-six members of the House on Thursday endorsed an eight-paragraph petition, which was read by the House Leader, Hon. Major Jack, accusing the governor of financial misconduct.

Reasons for impeachment weak – Elders

The Rivers Elders and Leadership Forum condemned the impeachment notice recently issued against Governor Fubara and his deputy, Professor Odu, describing the move as ill-motivated, unconstitutional, and capable of destabilising the state.

In a press release issued yesterday, the Forum said impeachment is a grave constitutional process that must not be reduced to an instrument for political vendettas or factional power struggles.

It argued that the reasons so far advanced to justify the impeachment were weak, lacked substance, and failed to meet the threshold of public interest or constitutional validity.

“Impeachment is not a political weapon to be deployed at will. It is a serious constitutional mechanism that must be exercised with utmost responsibility, transparency, and respect for due process,” the elders said.

According to the Forum, the action appears to be driven by narrow personal interests rather than a genuine commitment to good governance or the welfare of the people of Rivers State.

The elders warned that proceeding with the impeachment could deepen political divisions in the state, erode public confidence in democratic institutions, and further destabilise what they described as an already fragile political environment.

The statement, which was signed by a former Deputy Governor of the state, Alabo Dr. G. T. G. Toby, who currently serves as the Acting Chairman of the Rivers Elders and Leadership Forum, reminded members of the Rivers State House of Assembly that Governor Fubara’s mandate was freely given by the electorate and can only be challenged through strict adherence to constitutional provisions, due process, and based on clear, compelling, and verifiable grounds. It further recalled that Rivers State is yet to fully recover from the political, social, and institutional disruptions associated with the recent period of emergency rule, noting that the people are still grappling with the consequences of that episode.

The elders cautioned that the impeachment process, coming so early in the year, risks reopening old wounds and heightening tensions at a time when stability, reconciliation, and focused governance are urgently required. Consequently, the Forum called on the Rivers State House of Assembly to immediately retrace its steps and place the collective interest, peace, and progress of the state above partisan or personal considerations.

Reaffirming its commitment to peace, unity, justice, and constitutional democracy, the Rivers Elders and Leadership Forum declared that it would not remain silent in the face of actions capable of threatening the stability, dignity, and future of Rivers State.

Speaking with LEADERSHIP Weekend in Port Harcourt yesterday, former President of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP), Legborsi Pyagbara, called on the executive and legislative arms of government to exercise restraint in order not to plunge the state into crisis.

Pyagbara said: “My reaction remains that all the parties involved should sheathe their swords and work for peace in Rivers State. We are tired of all these crises. All we need now is peace.

“We have suffered enough in the last two years under this whole crisis. So, I appeal to all the actors—they were all elected to work for the development of Rivers State; this constant resort to crisis does not help us, to the extent that Rivers State has become synonymous with crisis.”

Also speaking with LEADERSHIP Weekend, a prominent Ijaw woman leader, Boma Harry, described the political situation as fragile and called for caution.

Harry said: “For me, speaking as a normal Nigerian and a Rivers person, I want to say that the House of Assembly should exercise caution in whatever they do because they already know that the political situation in Rivers State is very fragile.

“As it is now, most of us do not know why they want to impeach the governor. They rejected the N100,000 Christmas bonus given to them by the governor, claiming that he did not get approval, and you can recall that it is not the first time such money has been disbursed. For us, it sounded like they were speaking a Greek language.”

On his part, an elder statesman in Rivers State, Kingsley Wali, urged residents of the state to remain calm and not allow emotions to overtake reason amid the renewed political disagreement between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.

Wali described the developments in the state as “just politics,” noting that such disagreements are common wherever politicians compete for power.

He said the dispute between Fubara and Wike reflects a struggle between two political actors who jointly acquired power but are now divided over the terms of that acquisition.

According to Wali, the situation should not be interpreted as a sign that Rivers State is failing. However, he expressed concern over the agreement allegedly reached between the governor and the FCT minister before the 2023 governorship election, noting that the continued refusal of both men to disclose the terms has made it difficult for Rivers people to fully understand the basis of the disagreement.

For his part, a former deputy national chairman (South) of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Chief Asukewe Iko-Awaji, on Friday said the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) may lose the 2027 general elections for failing to deliver its promises to Nigerians.

Iko-Awaji, an elder statesman and member of the Rivers State Elders Council, said the APC had failed in the same way the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) failed, which led to the party’s defeat in the 2015 poll.

He slammed the APC national leadership for maintaining a studied silence while members of its party in the Rivers State House of Assembly are bent on impeaching an APC governor.

Reacting to the latest threat by the Rivers Assembly to impeach Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Prof. Ngozi Odu, Chief Iko-Awaji told LEADERSHIP Weekend that the myriad problems plaguing Nigeria, including the political crisis in Rivers State, were continuing unabated due to the failure of leadership in the country.

Iko-Awaji, who is currently a member of the APC, said the myriad of problems plaguing Nigeria, including the political crisis in Rivers State, were continuing unabated due to the failure of leadership in the country.

According to him, the current mass defection of governors and other top politicians is a sign of failure of the party, hence its wooing of people into its fold, which was the same thing the PDP did prior to the 2015 poll.

While lampooning the minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, for the crisis in Rivers State, he criticised Governor Fubara for showing signs of weakness, saying the people of the oil-rich state will not vote for a “kindergarten” governor in next year’s elections.

Iko-Awaji stated: “All these things are part of the FCT minister’s game, but the truth is very clear: if you’re a governor, you should behave like a governor. If the people elected you, you are answerable to the people.

“There are a lot of people who don’t know their right from their left. The governor is in the APC. The majority of the local government chairmen are in the APC. The majority of the members of the State House of Assembly are also in the APC.

“At the national level, the APC is in charge. I grew in party politics to the highest level of my political career. I served as national vice chairman, South-South, of the All Nigeria Peoples Party, which was the leading opposition when the PDP was in government.

“It is unfortunate that most of the people in the apex body of the party don’t know their left from their right. Some of them don’t even read the constitution of the party. The Bible says a house divided against itself cannot stand.

“What is the APC national secretariat doing? How can the party at the centre sit back while its members want to impeach the governor? It is not something to laugh about.”

He faulted Wike for visiting local government areas in the state with APC chieftains to do early campaigns without the insignia of the ruling party, such as the party flag.

“That is to tell you that these people are kindergarten politicians. The FCT minister is not in the APC. He has been expelled by his own party, the PDP. He went on a grassroots campaign. In that campaign, the deputy national chairman of APC, South-South, was there.

“The state chairman of APC was there. APC senators were there, and some leaders of APC were there. It is not as if he was attending a birthday party or a naming ceremony.

“And in that grassroots campaign, there was no APC flag to show that it was the APC doing the campaign. What you see in that environment is blue-white-blue, which does not stand for APC.

“Yet the leadership of the APC was there. You can see how careless they are. The APC as a party has lost its grip. This is where the PDP got it wrong. The APC as a party has failed Nigeria in its promises.

“I am a founding member of the APC, and I stand to be challenged. I am part of the founding members of the ANPP, which was the leading party in the formation of the APC. We had more governors than the ACN,” the elder statesman said.

He drew a parallel of what is happening now to what happened in the past under the then ruling PDP.

“When the PDP failed in its promises to Nigerians, it became afraid of Nigerians and shifted trust from the people to individuals. They started wooing governors from other political parties to join them, just like the APC is doing today.

“But all that glitters is not gold. Some days to the election, it became clear that the PDP would lose the election, even with its own governors working against it. And I want to tell you it is not far from what is going to play out in 2027 because the Bola Tinubu-led administration has failed in its promises.”

Chief Iko-Awaji further said while the federal government is talking about long-term gains, there are no low-hanging fruits for the citizenry.

“If you are talking about long-term programmes, what happened to the short term? A man who is hungry will not wait for three years before he eats or before the economy stabilises.

“Mr President said that one way or another Nigerians would have light (electricity). Is there any light (electricity) in Nigeria today? Even the Villa, the State House, is not using a public power supply.

“So if the number one citizen is not using public power supply, what tells you that the common man on the street will see public power supply to use? You can see that because they have failed, that is what is causing all these problems.”

He wondered how a ruling party would sit down while its members in the House of Assembly were commencing impeachment proceedings against their own governor, yet up until now the APC national secretariat had not issued a statement.

“So it is the fault of the party, but it is unfortunate that innocent Rivers people who voted are the ones on the receiving end.

“But underline it: in 2027, Rivers State will not support a kindergarten governor,” he concluded.