Tony Okocha Calls on Martin Amaewhule to Impeach Gov Fubara or Face Legal Action

Tony Okocha, the Caretaker Committee Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, has publicly called on Martin Amaewhule, the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, to initiate impeachment proceedings against Governor Siminalayi Fubara. This directive came after Governor Fubara declared the majority faction of the House of Assembly, led by Amaewhule, as “non-existent” due to their defection from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC.

Okocha’s call for impeachment was in response to Fubara’s stance that the intervention by President Bola Tinubu in the political crisis in Rivers State was merely a political solution, not constitutional. The APC’s directive threatens disciplinary actions under the party’s constitution if the Assembly does not commence impeachment proceedings, indicating significant internal party pressure and political maneuvering.

The situation has escalated with elder statesmen in Rivers State advocating for the lawmakers to reconsider the impeachment plan, suggesting they should await the Court of Appeal’s judgement regarding the legality of the lawmakers’ defection and subsequent actions. This call for impeachment reflects deep political tensions and the fluidity of political alignments in Nigerian politics, particularly in Rivers State, where factionalism has historically been pronounced.

The PDP has criticized this move by the APC as an attempt to undermine democratic processes through coercion and has called out the APC’s tactics as potentially destabilizing. This scenario underscores the complex interplay of political loyalty, legal interpretations, and power dynamics within Nigerian state politics.