The Rivers State House of Assembly has suspended impeachment proceedings against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Odu, following intervention by President Bola Tinubu earlier this month.
The decision was taken on Thursday during a resumed plenary session in Port Harcourt, the state capital. At the start of 2026, the House had initiated impeachment proceedings against the governor and his deputy over alleged gross misconduct.
The allegations included the demolition of the Assembly complex, extra-budgetary spending, withholding of funds meant for the Assembly Service Commission, refusal to comply with a Supreme Court ruling on legislative financial autonomy, among other actions. Notices of allegations were issued under Section 188 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
In a letter dated January 16, 2026, the Assembly had requested the state Chief Judge, Justice Simeon Amadi, to set up a seven-man panel to investigate the claims. However, Justice Amadi declined, citing a standing High Court order restraining him from taking further action.
Both Fubara and Odu had obtained separate injunctions from a Port Harcourt High Court to prevent the Chief Judge from constituting the probe panel, and the Assembly subsequently appealed the restraining order.
The impeachment move followed comments by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, accusing Fubara of reneging on a peace agreement brokered by President Tinubu in 2025.
President Tinubu met with Fubara and Wike at Aso Rock, Abuja, on February 8, 2026, and Wike expressed optimism that the intervention has brought the state closer to resolving its political impasse.
