PDP Condemns Move to Impeach Fubara Amid Escalating Tensions

• PDP criticizes APC’s call for Governor Fubara’s impeachment, deeming it a potential catalyst for chaos and instability in Rivers State
• ALGON Rivers State supports impeachment, accusing Fubara of withholding funds, escalating feud with estranged mentor Nyesom Wike

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has strongly criticized the All Progressives Congress (APC) leadership call in Rivers State for the State House of Assembly to initiate impeachment proceedings against Governor Siminalayi Fubara, labelling it as an open invitation to chaos.

In sharp contrast, the Rivers State chapter of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) has backed the call for the governor’s impeachment, accusing him of withholding and tampering with funds allocated to the state’s 23 Local Government Areas (LGAs).

The brewing crisis in the state, stemming from a feud between Governor Fubara and his immediate predecessor and estranged political mentor, Nyesom Wike, the FCT Minister, escalated further on Tuesday. This came as the state chapter of the APC urged its 27 members in the House of Assembly, including the speaker, to initiate impeachment proceedings.

Before this, the lawmakers had consistently threatened to impeach the governor, citing his alleged failure to adhere to the terms of a peace agreement brokered by President Bola Tinubu late last year. They had also overridden the governor’s refusal to approve several bills previously passed by the House. Observers suggest that Tuesday’s call by the APC leadership indicates a potential finalization of plans for the governor’s impeachment.

However, speaking at a press conference at the PDP headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday, Debo Ologunagba, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, argued that lawmakers who defected from the PDP to the APC had forfeited their seats and consequently lack the authority to initiate impeachment proceedings against an elected governor.

Quoting Section 109(1)(g) of the 1999 Constitution, Ologunagba emphasized, “A member of a House of Assembly shall vacate his seat in the House if… (g) being a person whose election to the House of Assembly was sponsored by a political party, he becomes a member of another political party before the expiration of the period for which that House was elected.”

He further urged the Inspector General of Police to take note of the inflammatory statements made by the APC Chairman in Rivers State, cautioning that such remarks could incite crises and undermine democratic order in the country.