The political landscape of Rivers State is once again embroiled in crisis as the State House of Assembly has commenced a third impeachment proceeding against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Ngọzi Odu. The Assembly, during an emergency plenary on Thursday, Jan. 8, initiated the process over alleged misconduct, and subsequently announced that impeachment notices had been successfully served on both the Governor and his Deputy.

The proceedings, which were broadcast live, saw the Majority Leader, Major Jack, read out eight points of alleged gross misconduct against Governor Fubara. These accusations, outlined in a notice dated 5 January 2026 and signed by 26 lawmakers, include the demolition of the assembly complex, unapproved budgetary spending, withholding funds meant for the Rivers Assembly Service Commission, refusal to obey the Supreme Court’s ruling on the financial autonomy of the House, and seizure of the salaries of the Clerk of the Rivers House of Assembly, Emeka Amadi. Speaker Martin Amaewhule assured that the notice would be forwarded to Governor Fubara within seven days.

Similarly, the Deputy Leader of the House, Mrs. Somiari‑Stewart, presented a notice of gross misconduct against Deputy Governor Mrs. Odu, also signed by 26 lawmakers. Allegations against Mrs. Odu include reckless and unconstitutional spending of public funds, obstruction of the assembly from performing its constitutional duties, and 'conniving' to allow unauthorized persons to occupy offices without proper screening. Speaker Amaewhule stated that the impeachment notice was 'good and in the interest of Rivers State,' accusing Governor Fubara and Mrs. Odu of being a threat to democracy by failing to present the 2026 Appropriation Bill and spending taxpayers’ money without approval.

In a significant development, a faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, led by Emeka Beke and represented by its Publicity Secretary Darlington Nwauju, has vehemently rejected the impeachment plot against Governor Fubara and his deputy. Nwauju described the move as an 'obvious hangover' from internal strife within the PDP, asserting that it would be 'totally untenable' for the APC to remain silent. The faction vowed to resist the plot, stressing that the impeachment on the basis of budget presentation was improper, given that a N1.4 trillion Rivers budget, approved by the National Assembly during the state of emergency, remains active until August 2026, allowing a six-month spending window into the new fiscal year.

The APC faction further appealed to Rivers lawmakers to resist external pressures to destabilize Governor Fubara’s administration and urged them, especially APC members in the assembly, to discontinue the process to avoid tarnishing the party’s image and frustrating state development. The party affirmed its commitment to ensure that the Rivers State government, identified as an APC government, is not destabilized.

The latest political maneuvers come amidst a shifting power dynamic, notably influenced by Governor Fubara’s defection to the All Progressives Congress. A former Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Austin Tam-George, suggested that Fubara's move to the APC, which occurred in December 2025 and changed political calculations in the state within the last three weeks, has weakened the influence of the camp loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike. Tam-George noted that this development appears to have unsettled Wike and his allies, prompting Wike to embark on visits to several local government areas and issue threats against the state government and even insult APC leadership structures. Wike, in a recent tirade, also declared he would not support Fubara's re-election in 2027. Conversely, a video circulated on social media shows Governor Fubara’s supporters chanting slogans affirming his governorship over Wike’s ministerial position.

This current impeachment bid marks the third attempt by the Rivers Assembly to remove Governor Fubara since he assumed office in 2023, against the backdrop of an ongoing feud with his predecessor, Nyesom Wike. The first attempt in October 2023 over alleged gross misconduct was dropped after President Bola Tinubu intervened. Following a peace deal signed by Fubara and Wike in December 2023, the impeachment notice was officially withdrawn. However, this peace deal soon broke down, leading the Assembly to strip Governor Fubara of the power to appoint caretaker committees for local government councils.

A second impeachment process against Fubara and Deputy Governor Odu commenced in March 2025 after a new notice of alleged misconduct was served. During this period, President Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers on 18 March 2025, suspending all elected officials, including the governor, for six months. Governor Fubara returned to office in September of that year after the emergency rule ended, following a second peace deal brokered in June between Fubara, Wike, and their supporters.

This second peace deal also recently broke down, with Minister Wike accusing Governor Fubara of reneging on its terms. Fubara’s subsequent defection from the PDP to the APC, reportedly in December 2025, was seemingly aimed at securing political protection from the ruling party. The prolonged political tension, as warned by Tam-George, ultimately poses a detrimental risk to the stability and development of Rivers State and its people.