The Rivers State House of Assembly on Monday rejected four commissioner nominees submitted by Governor Siminalayi Fubara while confirming five others after what lawmakers described as a rigorous and contentious screening exercise.
The screening, which lasted more than two hours and was conducted at the Assembly Quarters, was presided over by Speaker Martin Amaewhule.
At the end of the exercise, the House cleared five nominees to serve as commissioners in the reconstituted state executive council.
Those confirmed are Prof. Datonye Alasia, Mr. Tonye Bellgam, Dr. Peters Nwagor, Mrs. Charity Deemua and Sir Amairigha Edward Hart.
The Assembly, however, rejected four other nominees, citing poor performance during the screening process and controversies surrounding their documentation and nominations.
Addressing lawmakers during plenary, Amaewhule said the decision followed a thorough assessment of the nominees’ responses and credentials.
“Distinguished colleagues, we have nine nominees forwarded to this Assembly by the governor. At the end of the screening exercise, the House has confirmed five of them,” the Speaker said.
He explained that the four rejected nominees failed to convince the lawmakers that they possessed the required competence to serve in the state executive council.
“And four of them the House has chosen to take a deep breath given their poor performance and controversies surrounding either their documents. They have not been able to show this august Assembly that they are indeed prepared to serve Rivers State,” Amaewhule stated.
According to him, the Assembly concluded that the affected nominees were not suitable for the offices they were nominated to occupy.
“We feel that they are not square pegs in square holes for the offices that they intend to occupy in the Rivers State Executive Council,” he added.
Following deliberations, the Speaker sought the approval of the House to formally communicate the resolution of the Assembly to the governor.
He said the legislature would immediately transmit its decision, urging the governor to swear in the confirmed nominees without delay.
“On that note, I will forward a letter to the governor and ask him to swear in five of the nominees as soon as possible,” Amaewhule said.
After the announcement, the House adjourned plenary to March 17, 2026.
The screening comes weeks after Governor Fubara dissolved the state cabinet in February 2026 as part of political developments linked to a reconciliation process reportedly brokered by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The dissolution of the cabinet was widely interpreted as a key step in implementing a political truce aimed at easing tensions within the state’s political leadership.
With Monday’s confirmations, the governor is expected to begin rebuilding the state executive council as part of efforts to stabilise governance following months of political uncertainty in Rivers State.