Pressure mounted on the National Assembly on Friday as stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) demanded urgent federal intervention in the deepening political crisis rocking Rivers State, warning that delay could further imperil democratic governance.
The group, drawn from civil society organisations, media practitioners and party leaders, converged on the APC national secretariat in Abuja, where they called on federal lawmakers to invoke Section 11(4) of the 1999 Constitution to take over the functions of the Rivers State House of Assembly. They argued that the Assembly had forfeited its legitimacy through what they described as persistent abuse of legislative powers.
Addressing journalists during the protest, the stakeholders condemned the impeachment moves against Governor Siminalayi Fubara, characterising them as politically motivated and reckless. They maintained that the unfolding drama was less about constitutional oversight and more about power play capable of destabilising governance in the oil-rich state.
Spokesman of the APC Leaders Forum, Eze Chukwuemeka, said the situation had gone beyond routine legislative checks. “What we are witnessing is no longer oversight but a calculated vendetta aimed at crippling the executive. At this point, silence from the centre amounts to complicity,” he declared.
In a similar vein, the coordinator of one of the civil society groups, Comrade Blessing Ibama, insisted that there was no evidence to justify impeachment proceedings against the governor. She described the allegations as “political fiction”, warning that normalising such actions could set a dangerous precedent for democracy.
The protesters also accused a bloc of 27 lawmakers, allegedly aligned with the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and led by Martins Amaewhule, of orchestrating the crisis. They further alleged misuse of public funds, including claims of lavish constituency allocations, luxury vehicles and advance salary payments, all of which they said eroded public trust in the Assembly.
