The Rivers State House of Assembly has suspended its impeachment move against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Odu, following the intervention of President Bola Tinubu earlier this month.
The decision was reached during plenary on Thursday as the Assembly resumed sitting in Port Harcourt after weeks of tension.
PUNCH Online had earlier reported that during its first sitting of 2026, the Assembly began impeachment proceedings against the governor and his deputy, accusing them of gross misconduct.
At Thursday’s sitting, the Speaker presided while the Majority Leader, Major Jack, read out the formal notice containing the allegations.
According to the document, the accusations against Fubara and Odu include the demolition of the Assembly complex, extra-budgetary expenditures, the withholding of funds belonging to the Assembly Service Commission, alleged refusal to comply with a Supreme Court ruling granting financial autonomy to the legislature, and other acts the lawmakers described as “gross misconduct.”
The Assembly said the allegations were brought under Section 188 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
In a letter dated January 16, 2026, the lawmakers wrote to the state Chief Judge, Justice Simeon Amadi, requesting the constitution of a seven-man investigative panel.
However, Justice Amadi declined, citing an existing court order restraining him from taking any further steps on the matter.
Fubara and Odu had earlier secured injunctions from a High Court in Port Harcourt stopping the Chief Judge from acting on the Assembly’s request or setting up the probe panel.
In his response to the legislature, Amadi also noted that the Assembly had appealed the restraining order.
