THE chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, Tony Okocha, has given Governor Siminalayi Fubara a 48-hour ultimatum to resign or face impeachment.
Okocha stated this at a news briefing in Port Harcourt on Monday, March 10.
He said the governor disrespected President Bola Tinubu and violated the Nigerian Constitution.
He also accused Fubara of insulting Tinubu when he attempted to propose a political solution to the crisis in the state.
“The Supreme Court Judgement is final. There is nothing anybody can do about it. The only option available to the governor now is for him to resign or be impeached,” Okocha stated while reacting to the governor’s request that the state House of Assembly meet with him for a dialogue.
The ICIR reported on Sunday, March 9, that Fubara invited the Martins Amaewhule-led House of Assembly for a dialogue.
The meeting was scheduled for Monday, March 10, at the Governor’s Office in Port Harcourt, the state capital.
The notice of the meeting was signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Tammy Danagogo.
The request for the meeting followed the judgment of the Supreme Court, which recognised Amaewhule as the speaker of the state House of Assembly.
According to the letter of invitation addressed to the House members through the speaker, the invitation followed the receipt of the Supreme Court judgment by Fubara.
The meeting seeks to, among others, discuss the provision of a befitting space for the Assembly’s sittings; payment of all outstanding remuneration or allowances of members; presentation of the 2025 budget and sundry matters; and any other matter(s) that may be necessary for the good of the state.
The ICIR reported that following the Supreme Court ruling in favour of the Amaewhule-led Assembly, the House had, on Monday, March 3, given Fubara 48 hours to re-present the 2025 budget.
Responding, the government said it had yet to receive any official communication regarding the ultimatum.
In a letter dated March 5, addressed to Amaewhule, the secretary to the state government noted that the administration only learnt about the letter containing the ultimatum on social media.
He explained that as of the close of business on March 4, neither the offices of the governor, the deputy governor, nor the accountant general had received any such correspondence.
The ICIR reports that the Supreme Court judgment reinstated Amaewhule and his faction as legitimate members of the Assembly, which consequently invalidated the previous budget presentation made by Fubara to a splinter faction of the Assembly.
The court deemed Fubara’s presentation of an appropriation bill before a small faction of the Assembly as absurd.
It also annulled the recent local government election conducted in the state by Fubara.
The ICIR reports that Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, currently the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), have been at loggerheads over who controls the PDP structure in the state, with President Bola Tinubu’s efforts to resolve the stalemate yielding no result.
Fubara has vehemently resisted Wike’s insistence on controlling the party in the state, with both leaders, who were allies before the 2023 governorship election, turning arch-rivals months after Fubara assumed power.
A reporter with the ICIR
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I know this is where the whole situation will lead to. Nigeria politics in mess