The Rivers State House of Assembly did not meet on Thursday, a week after its last meeting was adjourned amid speculation about internal moves to remove Speaker Martin Amewule.
Governor Siminalai Fubara and his deputy Prof. on charges of gross misconduct. The House was adjourned last Thursday after the initiation of impeachment proceedings against Ngozi Odu.
In that meeting, the MPs accused the Governor of demolishing the assembly complex and spending money without legislative approval. He directed the clerk to serve an impeachment notice on the governor, giving him seven days to respond, then adjourned until Thursday, January 15, 2026.
But when the Assembly was to reconvene on Thursday, there was no plenary session and no official explanation.
The Amewuhle-led House currently meets at the conference hall of its legislative quarters along Aba Road in Port Harcourt. As of press time, the complex was inactive and there was no indication when MPs would meet again.
Efforts to reach Anne George, chairperson of the House Committee on Information, Petitions and Grievances, were unsuccessful. Calls and text messages remained unanswered.
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Cracks visible in impeachment campaign
Failure to seat occurs when internal splitting increases within the assembly. Between Monday and Wednesday, four lawmakers publicly distanced themselves from the impeachment process and called for a political solution to the crisis.
Earlier in the week, minority leaders Sylvanus Nwankwo (Omuma Constituency) and Peter Abe (Degema Constituency) had withdrawn from the impeachment move citing the need for peace and stability in the state.
On Wednesday, two female MPs – Barile Nwakoh (Khana I) and Emilia Amadi (Obio/Akpor II) also called on their colleagues to suspend impeachment and embrace dialogue.
While MPs maintained the crisis stemmed from alleged constitutional violations by Governor Fubara and his deputy, they called for a political solution if assurances were given that existing agreements would be respected.
Rumor of conspiracy against the speaker
According to The Punch, a senior government official, speaking anonymously, said the Assembly's failure to reconvene was linked to rumors of a planned attempt to impeach Speaker Amewule.
According to the official, after getting information about the alleged plan, the Speaker might have decided not to convene the House.
Separately, former federal lawmaker and former Rivers State Commissioner for Information, Ogbonna Nwuke, said the change was coming after some lawmakers within the House withdrew their suggested opinion.
Nwuke said the state needs collaboration between the executive and the legislature to prevent further instability.
He said, “I think what the Rivers people want at this point is clarity – that there will be no impeachment and that the executive and the legislature can work together in the interest of the state.”
The Rivers political crisis has attracted the intervention of several groups including the Pan Niger Delta Forum and the Rivers State Elders and Leaders Forum, which have formed committees to resolve the rift between former Governor Nyesom Wike and his successor, Governor Fubara.
