AMID the political crisis rocking Rivers, five more Commissioners have resigned after the state’s Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice Zacchaeus Adangor tendered his resignation on Thursday, December 14.
The others include Commissioner for Works Des George-Kelly, Commissioner for Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Inime Aguma, Commissioner for Special Duties Emeka Woke, Commissioner for Education Chinedu Mmom and Commissioner for Finance Isaac Kamalu.
In his resignation letter dated December 14, Mmom said his resignation was due to personal reasons.
“I hereby resign my appointment as the Honourable Commissioner for Education, Rivers State, for personal reasons. I wish to express my sincere appreciation for the opportunity given to me to serve in your administration and wish you the best as you carry on with the governance of the state,” The letter read.
According to a report, George-Kelly said he resigned because “my conscience will not allow me to stay,” while Aguma disclosed that she had other commitments.
The ICIR reported that Adangor cited “personal principles” as the reason for leaving Fubara’s cabinet.
There has been political tension in Rivers State following news of a rift between Fubara and his predecessor, Wike, the current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
As tension between both leaders heightened, impeachment actions were initiated against Fubara on Monday, October 30, by some members of the state House of Assembly believed to be loyal to Wike.
The impeachment process failed, and in November, President Bola Tinubu waded into the issue, after which Fubara issued a public apology to the people of the state, assuring them of peace and stability.
Fubara had thanked Tinubu for his intervention, which he said opened a channel for crisis resolution.
However, on Monday, December 11, 27 out of 32 state House of Assembly members defected from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Two days later, the government under Fubara ordered the demolition of the state House of Assembly Complex.
The governor attributed the demolition exercise to structural defects from a fire incident that affected the building in October.
On Wednesday, December 13, the governor presented the state’s 2024 budget to five members of the House of Assembly who appear to be loyal to him.
Fubara signed the N800 billion budget into law 24 hours after presenting it to the five lawmakers.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via [email protected] or @ije_le on Twitter.