The Rivers State House of Assembly has formally resolved to request the state’s Chief Judge to investigate Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Prof. Ngozi Odu, over allegations of gross misconduct.
The resolution was adopted on Friday during plenary, with 25 lawmakers voting in support, in accordance with Section 188 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
Presiding over the session, Speaker Martins Amaewhule directed the Clerk of the House to immediately write to the Chief Judge, seeking the constitution of a seven-member investigative panel to examine the allegations against the governor and his deputy.
“This voting clearly shows the decision of the House,” Amaewhule said, calling on the Chief Judge to set up the investigative panel without delay.
The Assembly accused Fubara and Odu of several constitutional breaches, including alleged irregularities in budget implementation, failure to present the 2026 Appropriation Bill to the legislature, unauthorised expenditure of public funds, and the withholding of statutory allocations meant for the House.
Earlier on Friday, the lawmakers addressed a live press conference in Port Harcourt, where they accused the governor of resorting to blackmail and intimidation in his dealings with the legislature.
Deputy Speaker Dumle Maol told journalists that Governor Fubara no longer enjoyed the confidence required to resolve the political crisis in the oil-rich state. According to him, the Assembly was left with no option but to exercise its constitutional powers to initiate impeachment proceedings.
The lawmakers also thanked President Bola Tinubu for intervening in the crisis.
In a major political shift, four members of the Assembly who had previously called for a political settlement publicly recanted their positions and declared full support for the impeachment process.
Following the press briefing, the lawmakers proceeded to the chambers to commence plenary, where they unanimously agreed to push ahead with the investigation.
The move comes weeks after the Assembly served formal notices of allegations on Governor Fubara and his deputy on January 8. Although the House failed to reconvene on Thursday, January 15—amid rumours of a plot to impeach Speaker Amaewhule—lawmakers regrouped on Friday and resolved to press on with the probe.
The development signals a deepening of the political crisis in Rivers State, with impeachment proceedings against the governor and his deputy now entering a decisive phase.
