Impeachment bid against Fubara falters again as Rivers Assembly fails to reconvene

The impeachment push against Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, suffered another blow on Thursday as the State House of Assembly failed to resume plenary one week after adjourning its last sitting.

The House, led by Speaker Martin Amaewhule, had at its first sitting of 2026 last Thursday commenced impeachment proceedings against the governor and his deputy, Prof. Ngozi Odu, over alleged gross misconduct. The allegations include the demolition of the Assembly complex, extra-budgetary spending and alleged defiance of constitutional and judicial provisions. Lawmakers adjourned the sitting to January 15, 2026.

However, Punch Newspaper reports that as of noon on Thursday, there was no indication that the lawmakers would reconvene. A visit by our correspondent to the conference hall of the Assembly’s legislative quarters along Aba Road, the current venue for plenary sessions, revealed no activity or presence of legislators.

No official explanation was offered for the failure to sit, and the Assembly has yet to announce a new date for resumption.

Efforts to get clarification from the House Chairman on Information, Petitions and Complaints, Eneme George, proved futile, as he neither responded to phone calls nor replied to text messages as of the time of filing this report.

The inability of the House to reconvene comes amid increasing internal opposition to the impeachment move. Four lawmakers have now openly called on their colleagues to withdraw the impeachment notice issued against Governor Fubara and his deputy on January 8.

Business Hallmark reported that on Wednesday, Barile Nwakoh (Khana Constituency I) and Emilia Amadi (Obio/Akpor Constituency II) joined two other legislators who had earlier urged the Assembly to suspend the impeachment process and explore alternative ways of resolving the political crisis.

Although the lawmakers acknowledged that the governor and his deputy may have breached certain constitutional provisions, they said appeals from respected elders and leaders within and outside the state informed their decision to seek a halt to the proceedings.

Earlier in the week, the Minority Leader of the House, Sylvanus Nwankwo, representing Omuma State Constituency, addressed a press conference in Port Harcourt, calling for restraint and dialogue.

“We have called this press conference to appeal to our colleagues to temper justice with mercy and to explore how we can resolve this matter apart from impeachment proceedings,” Nwankwo said, adding that interventions from prominent leaders prompted the appeal.

With the latest developments, four of the 26 lawmakers who signed the notice of alleged gross misconduct have now publicly aligned with calls for a peaceful resolution of the political impasse in Rivers State.