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From Tony John, Port Harcourt
The factional All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, has described the steps taken by the House of Assembly to impeach Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Professor Ngozi Odu as a legislative coup d’etat.
The APC Spokesperson, Darlington Nwauju, stated this in his reaction to the Assembly’s impeachment process and letter to the state chief judge to constitute a seven-man panel to investigate the governor and his deputy.
Nwauju, in a statement on Saturday, said: “We have painstakingly analysed the issues leading up to the latest step taken today by members of the Rivers State House of Assembly by electing to proceed with the impeachment process against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and Deputy Governor, Prof Ngozi Odu.
“Regrettably, we note that the honourable members who trumpeted loyalty to our party and Mr. President can give themselves to the unfolding choreographed legislative coup d’état against the collective interest, growth and development of our party in the state.
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“We warn again that this is a needless legislative overreach, having observed the recalcitrance on the part of members of the House of Assembly, including ‘APC’ members.
“It is a common knowledge that the Legislature is empowered under Section 129 and 188 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to conduct impeachment. As the ruling party in Rivers State, we are equally aware of the provisions of paragraph (11) of Section 188 which is subject to political interpretation by the Legislature as that paragraph is neither normative nor objective because act(s) that constitute “gross misconduct” is/are what only the legislature deem to be misconduct.”
Nwauju noted that no matter how crafted the allegations against the governor and his deputy are, they are still very subjective in the court of public opinion.
He stressed: “This unfortunate path chosen by the legislative arm, therefore, serves as dangerous footnote to the health and survival of the APC in Rivers State.”
He called on the chief judge of Rivers State, to respect the Friday’s interim injunction in Suit No: OYHC/7/CS/2026 that restrained him from receiving or acting on the resolutions of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
