Fubara speaks on assembly's move to impeach him

Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State has called for calm amid the impeachment move against him and his Deputy, Ngọzi Odu.

Governor Fubara spoke on Sunday during a church service held to mark the 2026 Armed Forces Remembrance Day, at St Cyprian’s Anglican Church in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital.

PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that the assembly began impeachment proceedings against the governor and his Deputy, Mrs Odu, a professor, on Thursday over alleged gross misconduct.

The is the third attempt by the lawmakers to impeach the Rivers governor since he was elected into office in 2023.

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‘Remain calm’

Mr Fubara, in his first public appearance since the fresh impeachment plot, urged Rivers residents to remain calm in the face of the threats by the state lawmakers.

The governor assured that everything would be fine in the south-southern state.

“I know that I have what is supreme, and that is God. So, I want everyone to be relaxed. What is important is peace for this dear state, and we’ll get it by the special name of God,” he said.

He explained that his decision to remain silent in the face of the political crisis was deliberate, adding that he draws strength from his faith in God.

Mr Fubara spoke about a comment he made a few days ago that “dogs bark when they do not understand”.

“I said something that dogs bark when they don’t understand.

“Now, see, a lot of you don’t understand, and that’s the reason why I don’t shout, I don’t complain. I know what I have. I know that I have who is supreme, and that’s God,” he said.

Background

This is the third attempt by the Rivers assembly to impeach Mr Fubara since he became the governor of the state in 2023 amid a feud between him and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.

The assembly first initiated an impeachment proceeding against Mr Fubara in October 2023 over allegations of gross misconduct.

However, the impeachment process was dropped shortly after President Bola Tinubu intervened in the political rift between Messrs Fubara and Wike at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

In December of that year, the lawmaker officially withdrew the impeachment notice against Governor Fubara following a peace deal signed by Messrs Fubara and Wike.

The peace deal later broke down with the Rivers Assembly stripping Governor Fubara of the power to appoint caretaker committees for local government councils.

READ ALSO: Rivers assembly denies halting impeachment move against Fubara

In March 2025, the assembly, for the second time, began an impeachment process against Governor Fubara and his Deputy, Mrs Odu, after serving a notice of alleged misconduct against them.

While the process was ongoing, President Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers on 18 March 2025 and suspended all elected officials in the state, including the governor, for six months.

Mr Fubara only returned to the office in September of that year, after the president declared an end to the emergency rule following a second peace deal brokered in June between Messrs. Fubara and Wike, alongside their supporters.

The second peace deal recently broke down with Mr Wike accusing the governor of reneging on the terms of the latest agreement in the peace deal brokered by the president.

Mr Fubara recently defected from the PDP to the APC, apparently in the hope of receiving political protection from the ruling party.