Two additional members of the Rivers House of Assembly have withdrawn from the impeachment move against Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers and his deputy, Ngọzi Odu, and they are urging their colleagues to halt the move for the sake of peace.
The lawmakers are the Deputy Minority Leader, Barile Nwakoh, who represents Khana Constituency I, and Emilia Amadi, who represents Obio/Akpor Constituency II.
Mssrs Nwakoh and Amadi, while announcing their position on Wednesday in a press conference broadcast by TVC, called for a peaceful resolution of the political crisis in Rivers.
The latest development came 48 hours after the Minority Leader of the House, Sylvanus Nwankwo, who represents Omuma State Constituency, and Peter Abbey, who represents Degema State Constituency, similarly appealed to their colleagues to halt the impeachment move against the governor.
With this, the number of lawmakers who have opted out of the impeachment move against Governor Fubara now stands at four.
The assembly is expected to resume plenary on 15 January.
‘Reasons for being part of the impeachment move’
The lawmakers explained why they were part of the impeachment proceedings against Mr Fubara.
Mssrs Nwakoh and Amadi claimed that the governor infringed on the Nigerian Constitution and reneged on the agreement he had with Mr Wike, which President Bola Tinubu supervised in June last year.
“For the avoidance of doubt, we speak for ourselves and not for the House, as we do not have the right to speak for the Rivers State House of Assembly at this juncture.
“To begin with, we are part of the notice of allegations of gross misconduct against the governor and deputy governor. Because they truly infringed severally on the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended.
“Worse still, the governor has seriously abandoned the agreements entered into in the past with the supervision of Mr President in a bid to finding a lasting solution to the Constitution infractions.”
The lawmakers said the allegations against Mr Fubara cast serious doubt on why any person should trust him.
A political solution
Mssrs Nwakoh and Amadi claimed they decided to withdraw from the impeachment move because many people called and appealed for a political solution to resolve the problem between the Rivers assembly and Mr Fubara.
“On this call, we hereby state our willingness to look at a political solution rather than an outright removal (of the governor). We call on our members to also consider this approach. We do not say this as a sign of weakness but because we have forgiving hearts and as mothers.
“It is our hope and expectation that assurances will come from the governor and deputy governor that they will retrace their steps and govern in line with the Constitution and keep to all agreements entered into with the supervision of Mr President,” the lawmakers said.
Mrs Amadi represents the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, in the Rivers assembly.
She said she had informed Mr Wike about her intention to withdraw from the impeachment move against Mr Fubara, and that the minister had told her to do whatever her conscience dictates on the matter.
“I want to let you know that before coming for this press briefing, I informed him (Wike). I told him of it. But he said to me that I should do whatever my conscience tells me to do, align with the Constitution and keep all agreements entered with the supervision of Mr President for the good and betterment of River State and Nigeria,” she said.
Background
On 8 January, the Rivers assembly initiated a third impeachment proceedings against Mr Fubara.
The impeachment move came shortly after the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike accused the governor of reneging on the terms of a peace deal brokered by President Bola Tinubu in June last year.
Two days later, the House refuted reports that it had discontinued the impeachment move against Mr Fubara and his deputy.
On 11 January, the lawmakers stated that they had uncovered “secret plots” by “certain persons” to use the high courts in Rivers State to halt its sittings and thwart its impeachment move.
