Plot to impeach Speaker Amaewhule stalls Rivers Assembly sitting, as table turns 

Fresh details have emerged explaining why the Rivers State House of Assembly failed to reconvene plenary on Thursday, with sources revealing that a suspected plot to impeach Speaker Martin Amaewhule forced the lawmakers to shelve the scheduled sitting.

The Assembly had adjourned last Thursday after initiating impeachment proceedings against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Prof. Ngozi Odu, over alleged gross misconduct.

Under Amaewhule’s leadership, the House accused the governor of demolishing the Assembly complex and authorising expenditure without legislative approval, among other allegations. Consequently, the Clerk of the House was directed to serve an impeachment notice on the governor, granting him seven days to respond.

Plenary was slated to resume on Thursday, January 15, 2026. However, journalists who visited the Assembly’s temporary sitting venue—the conference hall of its legislative quarters along Aba Road, Port Harcourt—found no sign of legislative activity.

No official explanation was provided for the failure to sit, and there was no information on when lawmakers would reconvene.

Efforts to reach the Chairman of the House Committee on Information, Petitions and Complaints, Dr Eneme George, were unsuccessful.

According to sources within the Assembly, the aborted sitting followed intelligence that some lawmakers were planning to move against Amaewhule during plenary, amid growing internal opposition to the impeachment of the governor.

Between Monday and Wednesday, four lawmakers formally withdrew from the impeachment process, calling for dialogue and a political resolution of the crisis.

Earlier in the week, the Minority Leader, Sylvanus Nwankwo (Omuma Constituency), alongside Peter Abbey (Degema Constituency), publicly announced their withdrawal from the impeachment move at a news briefing in Port Harcourt, urging their colleagues to embrace peace.

On Wednesday, two female lawmakers—Barile Nwakoh (Khana Constituency I) and Emilia Amadi (Obio/Akpor Constituency II)—also appealed to the House to discontinue the impeachment proceedings.

While calling for a political solution, the lawmakers commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike, for intervening in the crisis.

However, they accused Governor Fubara and his deputy of constitutional breaches and alleged that the governor had failed to honour agreements reached under the supervision of the President.

They urged their colleagues to pursue reconciliation, provided the governor assured them of compliance with the agreements and a commitment to governing in line with the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

Meanwhile, several groups, including the Pan Niger Delta Forum and the Rivers State Elders and Leaders Forum, have also intervened, setting up committees aimed at resolving the rift between Chief Wike and his estranged political ally and successor, Governor Fubara.