BY ONYEKACHUKWU IBEZIM – Few days after jettisoning their hard stance on the political crisis between the Executive and the legislative arms of government, some members of the Rivers State House of Assembly have recanted and demanded that lawmakers resume the impeachment proceedings against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Professor Ngozi Nma Odu.
Announcing the fresh shift that sees them backing down from their earlier call for political settlement, the four lawmakers of Ijaw extraction, said they are rejoining the impeachment process as they best option to address the protracted crisis rocking in the oil-rich state.
Consequently, they are urging Speaker Martin Amaewhule to reopen the chambers and allow lawmakers resume the impeachment proceedings against the Governor and his deputy.
The affected lawmakers are the Minority Leader of the House, Sylvanus Nwankwo; Barile Nwakoh of Khana Constituency I; Emilia Amadi of Obio/Akpor Constituency II; and Peter Abbey, representing Degema Constituency.
Reports indicate that the House, earlier scheduled to reconvene on Thursday, failed to sit as planned and by Friday, the lawmakers met at the Conference Hall within their residential quarters, where demands for the continuation of the impeachment exercise were renewed
According to four lawmakers, the decision to recant their stand and proceed with the impeachment was informed by the governor and his deputy’s refusal to address the constitutional issues contained in the impeachment notice.
Speaking on their sudden change of mind in a live broadcast aired from the Rivers State House of Assembly complex on Friday, the lawmakers said: “You will recall that on the 12th day of January 2026, myself and my colleague, Honourable Peter Abbey, addressed the press, wherein we made a plea to our colleagues to seek for a political solution to this impasse that is going on between the Assembly and the Governor of Rivers State.
“During the pendency of this appeal, we found out that the governor and the deputy governor, they have all employed their media boys and aides to continuously attack the Rivers State House of Assembly instead of seeking for the political solution which we offer, it is on this basis that I, Honourable Sylvanus Nwankwo, and my fellow colleague here, Honorable Peter Abbey, say that the impeachment proceedings should continue.”
In their interventions, Hon. Barile Nwakoh, representing Khana Constituency I, and Emilia Amadi of Obio/Akpor Constituency II, said they had abandoned their earlier preference for political solutions and were now fully ready to move ahead with the impeachment of the governor.
They accused the governor and his deputy of demonstrating no willingness to resolve the crisis through dialogue amid growing tensions within the Assembly over the impeachment exercise.
