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The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has asked the 27 members of the House of Assembly loyal to Nyesom Wike, Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), to commence impeachment procerding against Governor Similanayi Fubara.

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Governor Sim Fubara

 

Caretaker Committee Chairman of APC in the state, Chief Tony Okocha, made the call at a press conference in Port Harcourt, on Tuesday.

He said the governor has committed so many impeachable offences, hence the need to commence his impeachment process.

Okocha faulted the governor’s remark when he received a delegation of Ijaw leaders from Bayelsa state, on Monday.

Fubara had said the state House of Assembly was non existent.

Okocha said the Nigeria constitution recognized the three arms of government such as the Executive, Judiciary and Legislative, saying the governor has no constitutional power to declare duly elected members of the state Assembly non-existent.

He said, “We have directed members of the Rivers State House of Assembly to commence the impeachment process of a comatose government. The Governor’s head has become bigger than his pillow. He does not respect the law. He does anything he cares to do. We will not sit here as Rivers people to see Rivers State become a laughing stock in the comity of states, when we have a Governor who does not know his left from his right.

“A state as crucial and all important as Rivers State churned out a dunderhead. We cannot accept that. Our charge to the Assembly is to immediately commence an impeachment. And if they don’t do that there is what they call party discipline. We shall invoke the relevant section of the constitution.

“You know the history of politics. You know the constitution of Nigeria. The Governor said the Assembly members do not exist, that whatever thing they are doing is because he allowed them. In other words he has re-written the books. Elementary politics taught us the three organs of government and their roles. And goes further to talk about the separation of powers and checks and balances. Now what the Governor was implying clearly is that he is ruling Rivers State without laws.

“That Rivers State runs on executive arm and judiciary. So what that implies is simply absurdity. You can now see the tendencies of a dictator. As an opposition party in Rivers State, we will not keep quiet, we will shout. It is regrettable that the Governor has taken up to this point and we will not take it. The Governor was clear whether unambiguous in his deliberate attempt to denigrate the person of Mr President.

“All these while he has been sponsoring people to challenge the power of the President in the proclamation made by the President. The Governor said that the President’s intervention in Rivers State which he signed was not constitutional but a political solution. But he assented to it, not under duress. The agreement was signed in a friendly environment and the Governor assented to the proclamation and had the opportunity to speak where he thanked Mr President. So nobody forced him to sign the proclamation, he did it willingly. So at what point did the governor realize that the resolution was a political matter?

“The issue again to ask is each of those items for us to drive this home. Nine Commissioners resigned and they were brought back. Then you now began to talk about constitutional issues when the President advised you not to interfere in the funding of the State Assembly. Another area of the Constitution which the President delved into was the conduct of local government elections and the representation of the budget. Among these issues raised, which of these is the Governor talking about that is not constitutional?.

“What section of the constitution empowers the Governor to declare the Assembly non-existent? The role of the Governor is proclamation of the Assembly which is done once in four years. The constitution doesn’t allow him for quarterly proclamation of the Assembly. He dissolved the House and proclaimed the Assembly at the end of the tenure of the Assembly. Mind you the Assembly we are talking about is a representative of the people, they were duly elected. They are not his appointees. So where did the Governor derive his powers to say that the Assembly is non-existent.

“Meanwhile records are there about the correspondences between the Governor and the Assembly wherein he addressed Martin Amaewhule as the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly. We want this to be on record as the Chairman of the APC in Rivers State, as the representative of Mr President, we won’t sit here to see the Governor declare on his own as if he is in court.

“He has become Daniel, who is sitting in judgement to declare the Assembly members’ seat vacant. To that extent in consultation with my party, we have directed and we are directing the Assembly members and as APC members who are in the Assembly to immediately commence the impeachment of Governor Sim Fubara.”

Reacting, Rivers Commissioner for Information, Mr Joseph Johnson, said Okocha is not the Chairman of APC in Rivers State.

“In our jurisprudence the 27 lawmakers have lost their seat on the day they defected to another party that’s what the law says. The Constitution of federal Republic of Nigeria section 109 clearly stated that and it’s incontrovertible. The law says you cannot put something on nothing.

“There is nothing at all to even put on something. The Rivers State House of Assembly does not exist, they are none existent. The governor said yesterday that they does not exist but out of his magnanimity has allowed them he even gone further to draw them closer but it does not appear that they don’t understand.”

 

Politics

Imo: Reps seek FG’s intervention over devastating erosion in Ideato federal constituency

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The House of Representatives on Thursday declared Ideato North and South Federal Constituency of Imo state as an erosion and road disaster zone, calling for urgent intervention from Federal Government and relevant agencies intervention to save Ideato from total collapse.
The resolution was passed sequel to the adoption of a motion sponsored by Chairman, House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), Rep. Ikenga Ugochinyere, who solicited for the House intervention.
Leading the debate, Rep. Ugochinyere noted that Section 14(2b) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) stated that the primary purpose of Government is to protect the lives and properties of the Citizens.
He also noted the devastating impact of the gully erosion and road disaster in Ideato Federal Constituency, affecting over thirty-two communities including Umueshi, Amanator, Urualla, Isiekenesi, Isiokpo, Umuaghobe,Ozuomee, Obodoukwu, Arondizuogu, Akokwa, Umumaisiaku, Umuobom and surrounding areas.
He expressed concerns that these Communities in Ideato North/South Federal Constituency are currently facing gully erosion and road infrastructure collapse , threatening their lives and access to essential services like healthcare, education, trade and road infrastructures.

Rep. Ugochinyere said: “The House is alarmed that the gully erosion and road infrastructure collapse has worsened, destroying homes, farmlands, causing total road collapse, in Umueshi-Amanator-Isiekenesi road, particularly the Urualla gigantic erosion sites 1, 2, and 3, which is currently threatening to sink the heart of Urualla and Afor Urualla, Umueshi, Amanator, Isiekenesi, Isiokpo, Umuaghobe, Ozuomee, Obodoukwu, Arondizuogu, Akokwa, Umumaisiaku communities and Umuobom Bridge; Recalls that Ideato land is home to influential national figures and patriots like Mbaonu Ojike, K.O. Mbadiwe, Elochukwu Njaka,Collins Obi, Ferdinand Anaghara, and Maduakor, hence the need for urgent intervention to preserve their ancestral heritage.
“The House commends the Federal Government’s previous intervention at the Umuchima gully erosion site, which has been taken over by the Imo State Government.
“The House is aware that the erosion has destroyed lives and properties and if nothing is done urgently to curb the menace more lives and properties will be lost,” he stressed.
Adopting the motion unanimously, the House therefore urged Federal Government to declare Ideato Federal Constituency an erosion and road disaster zone, and take drastic steps to curtail gully erosion and road collapse in the communities in Ideato North/South Federal Constituency.
The lawmakers also urged the Federal Ministries of Works, Environment, Ecological Fund Office, Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), and the South East Development Commission (SEDC) to embark on immediate intervention, rehabilitate, reconstruct and remedial works on the Umueshi Amanator- Isiekenesi gully erosion and collapsed Road, Urualla gigantic gully erosion sites 1, 2, and 3, Afor Urualla communities, Isiokpo gully erosion, Umuaghobe , Umumaisiaku, Akpulu, Akokwa, Obodoukwu and Arondizuogu gully erosion and collapsed road, and the sinking Bridge in umuobom.
The lawmakers further urged Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and to provide relief materials for the displaced victims of the gully erosion in Ideato North/South Federal Constituency, Imo State.
To this end, the House mandated the joint Committees on Works, Emergency and Disaster Preparedness, Environment Ecological Fund, South-East Development Commission (SEDC) and Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to ensure compliance and report within four weeks for further legislative action.

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Politics

President Tinubu declines assent to NDLEA Amendment Bill

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President Bola Tinubu has declined assent to the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Amendment Bill, 2025, recently passed by the National Assembly.

The bill proposes granting the NDLEA the power to retain a portion of the proceeds from drug related crimes in variance to the current legal framework.

This is communicated to the House of Representatives as read during plenary on Thursday, by the Speaker, Rep. Tajudeen Abbas.

President Tinubu, who cited Section 58, Subsection 4 of the 1999 Constitution, said that the bill, if signed, was a contravention of the aforementioned sections.

Tinubu clarified that under existing law, all proceeds from crime must be deposited into the Confiscated and Forfeited Properties Account.

He explained that any disbursement to relevant agencies involved in recoveries must be made by the President, and only with the approval of the Federal Executive Council and the National Assembly.

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Politics

APC suffers heavy blow as Ganduje’s loyalist dumps party for NNPP

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A long-standing confidant of APC National Chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has left the ruling party to join the opposition New Nigeria’s People’s Party (NNPP) in Kano.

Mustapha Hamza Buhari Bakwana, a well-known grassroots mobilizer and former political adviser to Ganduje during his tenure as governor officially joined the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) on Wednesday.

This means he has also dumped his role as Senior Legislative Aide to Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibril.

Standing before his loyal supporters in Kano, said, “We gave everything to the APC — time, loyalty, sweat. But what did we get in return? Silence, neglect and betrayal. Enough is enough,” he said.

“We’ve chosen to pitch our tent with Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, a man who doesn’t forget his people. He understands the game of politics and plays it with honor.”

Once seen as one of Ganduje’s most trusted strategists in the North West, Bakwana’s departure could signal deeper cracks in the party’s foundations especially as the 2027 elections draws nearer.

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