Fubara: Crack in Rivers Assembly as members seek withdrawal of impeachment order
There appears to be a sharp division in the Rivers State House of Assembly, as two lawmakers called on other colleagues to stay action on the impeachment threat to Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Prof Ngozi Odu.
In what turned out to be a huge shock to many, Hon Sylvanus Nwankwo, the house minority leader who also represents Omuma state constituency, in a press conference on Monday in Port Harcourt, begged his fellow lawmakers to “temper justice with mercy” and explore alternatives to Fubara’s removal from office.
“We have called this press conference to appeal to our colleagues to temper justice with mercy and to see how we can resolve this matter apart from impeachment proceedings,” he said.
“That is why we are here this morning to appeal to the conscience of our fellow colleagues. Having listened to so many pleas, calls from our elders and leaders, both within and outside the state, begging for leniency
“We are begging, calling on our colleagues to reconsider our step and see how this matter can be resolved amicably, even though the governor and deputy governor have infringed on the constitution, but we are appealing to them to reconsider our stand.”
On his part, Hon Peter Abbey, who represents Degema state constituency, joined in the call for restraint, describing the situation as one that requires a human approach.
“He [Fubara] has infringed on parts of the constitution, but we are human beings, and we, as members of the 10th assembly, want to plead with our colleagues to please reconsider,” he said.
Abbey said the governor also has a responsibility to de-escalate the crisis by ensuring that there are no further constitutional breaches, which he said could pave the way for a peaceful settlement.
Meanwhile, the timely intervention of the two lawmakers runs contrary to the position of the Chairman of House Committee on Information, Hon Alabo Enemi George, who insisted that the impeachment process is on course.
When asked in an interview whether the House would back down on the impeachment threat, George said nothing would stop the ongoing process and went further to state that the governor and his deputy had already been served.
