Rivers Elders, CSOs Condemn Impeachment Move

Rivers State elders under the aegis of Rivers Elders and Leadership Forum condemned the recent impeachment notice issued against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy Prof. Ngozi Odu by members of the State House of Assembly.

In a statement signed by the Acting Chairman of the Forum, Dr. Gabriel Toby the elder statesmen said impeachment was a serious constitutional process, not a tool for political vendettas or factional struggles.Toby, a former deputy governor in the State who spoke on behalf of the forum said “The reasons so far advanced in support of this action (impeachment ) are disturbingly weak, lacking substance, public interest justification, or constitutional weight.”

The forum observed that the action appeared driven by narrow personal interests rather than genuine concern for good governance.

“The Forum reminds the Rivers State House of Assembly that the Governor’s mandate was freely given by the people of Rivers State and can only be questioned in strict compliance with constitutional provisions, due process, and on the basis of clear, compelling, and verifiable grounds.”

The statesmen warned that the current course of action risks deepening political divisions, eroding public trust in democratic institutions, and further destabilising an already fragile polity.

“Rivers State has not fully recovered from the political, social, and institutional disruptions of the recent period of emergency rule. Our people continue to bear the consequences of that episode, and this development, so early in the year, risks reopening old wounds and heightening tensions at a time when stability and focused governance are urgently needed.”

The forum called on the lawmakers to immediately retrace its steps and place the collective interest, peace, and progress of Rivers State above all partisan or personal considerations.

“The Rivers Elders and Leadership Forum remains firmly committed to peace, unity, justice, and constitutional democracy in Rivers State. We will not be silent in the face of any action that threaten the stability, dignity, and future of our state”, Toby added.Meanwhile, reactions have continued to trail the impeachment saga in Rivers. Former Commissioner for Information and Communications in the State, Austin Tam George, accused Wike of allegedly reducing governance to personal control, recalling his own experience serving under the former governor.George who made the accusation in an interview on ARISE News, described the new impeachment notice against Governor Fubara as “dead on arrival”.He said the move was purely political and lacks any constitutional or legal basis, insisting that the impeachment effort was designed to halt what he described as Governor Fubara’s growing popularity across the state.The former Commissioner stated that the impeachment attempt was a reaction to Fubara’s recent defection to the APC, which he said had “threatened the original leverage” of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, over the state government.“The defection of the governor has obviously threatened the original leverage that the Wike camp had, and they are now trying to reassert that leverage.“Nyesom Wike has been a complete pestilence on Rivers State. I served in his administration. I resigned precisely because of his propensity for chaos, instability, and reducing government to a personality cult.”Also, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) condemned the impeachment move against Fubara, describing it as anti-democratic and a misuse of legislative powers.In a statement signed by the Chancellor of the International Society for Social Justice and Human Rights (ISSJHR), Dr. Omenazu Jackson, alongside the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), in a separate statement signed by its Rivers State Chairman, Sunny Dada, and Secretary, Dr. Christian Onyegbule, said the impeachment threat was constitutionally reckless and an abuse of legislative authority.Jackson stressed that impeachment was not a political weapon but a grave constitutional process strictly governed by Section 188 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).He noted that the law requires clear allegations of gross misconduct, due process, fair hearing, legislative quorum and judicial panel investigation, warning that any deviation would render such an action null and void.The group cautioned “political opportunists and crisis merchants” against actions capable of plunging the state into instability, warning that the patience of the people should not be mistaken for weakness.Similarly, the CLO noted that it had earlier urged the governor to present the budget for legislative action, maintaining that impeachment is a grave constitutional safeguard for accountability, not a tool for political retaliation or brinkmanship.The organisation expressed concern that the prevailing political tensions could distort constitutional procedures and turn them into instruments of conflict rather than democratic oversight.It demanded strict adherence to due process, insisting that the House of Assembly must comply with constitutional provisions, its standing rules and judicial precedents.In his contribution, a Former Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, Sam Amadi, identified due judicial process as Fubara’s strongest safeguard against impeachment in Rivers State.He specifically stated that the judicial phase of the process remains Fubara’s “saving grace,” saying it was likely to shield him from impeachment.Amadi said the impeachment process hinges largely on the appointment of an investigative panel by the state’s Chief Judge, describing it as the “anchor point” of the entire procedure.Speaking on Arise News Channel, Amadi said: “The main anchor for the impeachment procedure is the appointment by the Chief Judge of the State investigators. That is really the anchor point. If you don’t get there, you are gone.“He knows the game against himself. He appointed a Chief Judge that we think would be more amenable to him, and again, because also the grounds for his impeachment are not legally overwhelming, let’s to say the least, some would say it’s really trash.”But the judge will be the saving point here, because he will appoint people who may not, at least by definition, constitutionally, people of integrity, who are not politically partisan.“So they will look at the lens and say, has this governor, since the end of emergency rule, done anything that amounts to gross misconduct, even though the Supreme Court has said gross misconduct is in the eye of the beholder. But here this men of integrity would look at the lens and say, what really is the big deal here? What has this governor done that’s suffering six months’ incarceration, if you like, politically, and then coming back hasn’t done anything,” he explained.