Rivers House of Assembly suspends Fubara’s impeachment after Tinubu’s intervention

The Rivers State House of Assembly has suspended impeachment proceedings against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Prof Ngozi Odu, following the intervention of President Bola Tinubu earlier this month.

The resolution to pause the process was reached on Thursday during plenary at the Assembly’s resumed sitting in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital. Lawmakers agreed to step back from the impeachment move amid ongoing efforts to restore political stability in the state after months of tension between key actors.

The development comes weeks after the House, at its first sitting of 2026, formally initiated impeachment proceedings against Fubara and Odu over allegations of gross misconduct. At the time, the Majority Leader, Major Jack, read a notice during plenary outlining the claims against the governor and his deputy. The session was presided over by the Speaker, Martin Amaewhule, who supervised the commencement of the constitutional process.

The notice of allegations accused the governor and his deputy of several infractions. Among them were the demolition of the Assembly complex, alleged extra-budgetary expenditures, and the withholding of funds meant for the Rivers State Assembly Service Commission. The lawmakers also cited what they described as the governor’s refusal to comply with a Supreme Court judgment affirming the financial autonomy of the legislature. Other actions, which the House said amounted to gross misconduct, were also referenced in the notice.

According to the Assembly, the impeachment steps were taken pursuant to Section 188 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which outlines the procedure for removing a governor or deputy governor from office on grounds of gross misconduct. In line with the constitutional requirement, the House moved to escalate the matter after serving the notice.

READ ALSO: Rivers Assembly begins Fubara’s impeachment over gross misconduct

In a letter dated January 16, 2026, the Assembly formally requested the state Chief Judge, Justice Simeon Amadi, to constitute a seven-man investigative panel to probe the allegations against Fubara and Odu. Under the Constitution, such a panel is mandated to investigate the claims and determine whether they are substantiated before any further action can be taken by the legislature.

However, the process soon encountered legal hurdles. Fubara and Odu, in separate suits filed at a High Court in Port Harcourt, challenged the legality of the impeachment proceedings. They subsequently secured injunctions restraining the chief judge from acting on the Assembly’s request or setting up the investigative panel pending the determination of their suits.

In his response to the Assembly, the chief judge acknowledged receipt of the lawmakers’ request but noted that the speaker and the House had appealed the restraining order granted by the High Court. The legal back-and-forth effectively stalled the impeachment machinery and deepened the institutional standoff between the executive and legislative arms in the state.

The impeachment push was widely seen as an escalation of the political rift within Rivers State. It followed public accusations by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, who alleged that Governor Fubara had reneged on a peace agreement brokered in 2025 by President Tinubu to resolve the state’s protracted political crisis.

In a bid to ease tensions, President Tinubu convened a meeting with Fubara and Wike on Sunday, February 8, at the president’s official residence in Abuja. The high-level talks were aimed at finding a lasting solution to the power struggle that has unsettled the state’s political landscape.

Following the meeting, Wike confirmed that discussions had taken place and expressed optimism that the crisis was nearing a resolution. He described the president’s intervention as decisive and capable of restoring stability in Rivers State.

While the legal disputes remain unresolved, the suspension of the process signals a temporary de-escalation in the conflict that has gripped the state’s political institutions in recent months.