Four members of the Rivers State House of Assembly who recently withdrew from the impeachment proceedings against Governor Siminalayi Fubara have reversed their decision and declared support for the process.
The lawmakers are the Minority Leader of the House, Sylvanus Nwankwo; Peter Abbey, representing Degema Constituency; Barile Nwakoh of Khana Constituency I; and Emilia Amadi of Obio/Akpor Constituency II.
The lawmakers made the U-turn today during a live broadcast aired from the front of the Rivers State House of Assembly complex, days after publicly calling for an amicable resolution of the political crisis rocking the state.
Also speaking, Nwakoh and Amadi said they decided to back the impeachment after concluding that the Governor and his Deputy had shown no willingness to resolve the crisis through dialogue.
Their latest position comes amid growing tensions within the Assembly over the impeachment move against Fubara and his deputy, Prof. Ngozi Odu.
The House, led by Speaker Martin Amaewhule, had last week commenced impeachment proceedings against the governor and his deputy over alleged gross misconduct.
The allegations include the demolition of the Assembly complex and the alleged spending of public funds without legislative approval.
However, between Monday and Wednesday, the four lawmakers announced their withdrawal from the impeachment process, citing the need for dialogue and political reconciliation.
Members of the Assembly today insisted that the impeachment process would continue, describing it as constitutional and the only solution to the political impasse in the state.
The development followed the Assembly’s failure to reconvene for plenary on Thursday, one week after adjourning its last sitting, amid speculation of internal disagreements among lawmakers.
With the latest reversal by the four legislators, the impeachment process appears to have regained momentum within the House.
