A faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State has warned against the move commenced by the House of Assembly to kickstart an impeachment process against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Prof. Nma Odu.

The APC urged the lawmakers, especially those from the party, to resist “pressures from outside the assembly chambers to destabilise the government of Rivers state”.

The faction said the party would “do everything possible to ensure that the government of Rivers state, which is an APC government, is not destabilised through fratricidal disagreements.”

The party called on lawmakers, particularly APC members, to immediately discontinue the impeachment process, warning that it could “drag the image of our great party to the mud and stifle the continuous progress and development of Rivers state”.

“Let our state remain a democracy and not a politicocracy!!!” the party noted.

At a plenary, yesterday, the House alleged gross misconduct as bases for its move.

Citing Section 188 of the Constitution, it resolved to serve the notice of gross misconduct on Fubara and Odu within seven days.

Major Jack (APC Akuku-Toru), Majority Leader, condemned what he described as the continued refusal of the governor to respect the peace efforts of President Bola Tinubu.

According to him, Fubara and his deputy had also refused to respect the rules guiding financial transparency and good governance.

“They have repeatedly breached and backtracked on the peace agreement facilitated by the president,” he said.

Mrs. Linda Somiari (APC Okrika) said the gross misconduct included ‘obstructing the Rivers House of Assembly from performing its constitutional duties’.

She said they were conniving and supporting the illegal appointment of persons into positions without the approval of the House.

Somiari also mentioned non-payment of salaries, allowances and release of funds meant for lawmakers and that of the Clark of the House, Mr Emeka Amadi as part of the infractions.

She said Fubara also failed to implement financial autonomy of the legislature and the judiciary as well as withholding funds meant for the running of the Assembly Service Commission, among other allegations.

Similarly, the House unanimously supported a motion sponsored by Deputy Speaker, Dumle Maol and Sylvanus Nwankwo declining action on the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and the 2026 budget.

“According to section 10 of the Rivers State fiscal responsibility law No.8 of 2010, the governor is expected to present the medium-term framework every three years.

“As we speak, the last medium term expenditures framework was presented in 2022 by the former governor, Nysom Wike.

“Fubara and his deputy have refused to either present the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (M-TEF) or appropriation bill 2026. They have continued to illegally spend from the Consolidated funds of the state without approval,” he said.

Responding, the Speaker, Martins Amaewhule accused Fubara and Odu of posing a threat to democracy and commended members for the motion saying it was in the state’s best interest.

He promised to ensure that the decision of the House was sent to the governor while also promising to ensure due process in the investigation.

Amaewhule also said that the notice of gross misconduct has opened up an impeachment process that would save democracy from collapsing in the state

But the APC faction in Rivers led by Emeka Beke has asked the Assembly to resist moves to “destabilise” the Fubara-led government.

In a statement by Darlington Nwauju, spokesperson of the faction, said the party’s attention had been drawn to the “latest unfortunate developments” from the Rivers State House of Assembly.

The party acknowledged that the legislature is an independent arm of government with constitutional powers of checks and balances.

The APC faction said it “solemnly reject[s] the resort to an impeachment process against our governor and his deputy”.

The faction said it would be untenable to remain silent while an “obvious hangover from strife that occurred within the PDP” was allowed to resurface in the party.

The party said the impeachment threat was centred on the budget and recalled that during the period of emergency rule, an appropriation bill was transmitted to the national assembly in May 2025.

The faction said the budget, which totalled N1.485 trillion, was approved by the senate on June 25, 2025, and by the house of representatives on July 22, 2025.

The APC said the budget was designed to run for one year until August 2026. It added that if the governor was comfortable with the composition of the budget, he could decide not to present a supplementary budget.

The party said the constitution allows a six-month spending window into a new fiscal year by a state governor. (The Sun)