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...Says it’s a cheap move to evade budget presentation
Nigeria’s Opposition Lawmakers Coalition has condemned the pro-Wike members of the Rivers State House of Assembly over purported impeachment notice against Governor Siminalayi Fubara, labeling it a “cheap, desperate tactic” to evade receiving the 2025 budget and escalate political tensions in the state.
In a fiery press statement released on Monday, the Coalition accused the Assembly members loyal to Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike of throwing up the impeachment proceedings to distract Nigerians from their refusal to accept the state’s Appropriation Bill, despite a Supreme Court mandate.
The Coalition emphasized that a subsisting court order bars the Rivers Assembly from initiating impeachment proceedings against Governor Fubara. The order, issued earlier this year, also restrains the Chief Judge from entertaining any such requests.
“These lawmakers are engaging in political masturbation. As long as that court order exists, they can only dream of removing Fubara,” said Hon. Ikenga Ugochinyere, spokesperson for the Coalition.
“Their goal is to create chaos and avoid their constitutional duty to receive the budget, which would alleviate the suffering of Rivers people.”
This follows from Governor Fubara’s repeated attempts to present the 2025 budget to the Assembly. Last week, the governor was reportedly locked out of the Assembly complex, prompting him to reschedule the presentation for March 19 in a letter dated March 13.
However, the pro-Wike lawmakers abruptly declared a recess on Friday, only to surface on Monday with impeachment allegations against Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Odu. The Coalition alleges the impeachment notice – served via Facebook -is a diversionary tactic to justify their refusal to accept the budget.
“How can you claim the governor is avoiding budget presentation when you fled on the agreed date and invented a recess?” Ugochinyere queried. “These are the same lawmakers who dragged Rivers State to the Supreme Court over the budget, won, and then ran away when the governor complied.”
The Coalition further accused the pro-Wike faction of attempting to intimidate the state judiciary. Lawmakers allegedly resurrected unproven claims of age falsification against the Chief Judge – previously cleared of such allegations – after he refused to support their “anti-Rivers plot.”
“Their desperation to install a Wike loyalist as governor is dead on arrival. Rivers people can clearly see through this kindergarten blackmail,” Ugochinyere asserted.
The impeachment threat marks the latest chapter in the bitter feud between Fubara and Wike, his predecessor and political godfather. Tensions flared in 2023 over control of the state’s political machinery, culminating in a split within the Assembly and multiple legal battles.
The Supreme Court had earlier ruled that the Assembly must accept the governor’s budget, but pro-Wike lawmakers have repeatedly obstructed the process, citing procedural concerns critics call baseless.
Governor Fubara’s administration insists the budget presentation will proceed as planned this week, despite the Assembly’s recess. Meanwhile, legal experts warn that violating the court order against impeachment could lead to contempt charges against the lawmakers.
