Rivers Lawmakers Likely To Ignore Gov. Fubara’s Invitation

By Adesina Soyooye

The glimmer of hope that, perhaps, there could be an end to the political crisis which has been the portion of Rivers State has been shattered. This is because unless there is a last  minute change of heart, the meeting which Governor Siminalayi Fubara scheduled between him and the Members of the House of Assembly, is not likely to be honoured by them.

This snub which is likely  to deepen the crisis in the State was disclosed by a Member of the House of Assembly, Lolo Isaiah Opunede. According to him, for the House Members, the meeting with the Governor is a no-no. The Governor should “dey his dey” while they equally do the same.

Fubara and his predecessor and estranged political godfather, Nyesom Wike, Minister for the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, have been in a very bitter political disagreement. The disagreement extended to the House of Assembly where 27 of the members are “Wike’s boys”. Since the crisis started in 2023,a couple of months after Fubara was sworn-in as Governor, the State has been grounded to a halt, almost. It has been one legal tussle after the order, claims and counter-claims.

But on Friday, February 28, 2025, in a decisive judgement which shocked not a few people, the Supreme Court gave the Governor a bloody nose. In a unanimous judgement, a panel of their Lordships decided all issues in favour of the pro-Wike members who most people thought had lost their seats when they publicly defected from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the All Progressives Congress, APC, an action which they shockingly turned round to deny they took.

Since after the Supreme Court declared them “still PDP members”, and authentic Members of the House with Martin Amaewhule as the authentic  Speaker, the members have been throwing their powers around with a couple of 48-hour ultimatums given to the Governor. So far, Fubara has ignored the ultimatums one of which was to re-present the 2025 Budget as ordered by the Supreme Court. Before now, he had signed it into law after it was approved for him by four members of the Assembly loyal to him.

His reason was that aside from the fact, at the time, that his Government had not seen a copy of the Certified True Copy of the Supreme Court judgement, he had received no letter from the Speaker on the re-presentation of the budget.

However, hope of a little understanding was raised on Sunday when the Governor invited Speaker Amaewhule and his colleagues to a meeting with him on Monday, March 10, in his office at Government House. Among other things billed for discussion, according to the letter addressed to the Speaker are: Getting an appropriate venue for the Assembly Members to carry out their business (Fubara had pulled down the Assembly Complex in the heat of the crisis, allegedly, for comprehensive repairs); to discuss how to pay them their many months of outstanding salaries and allowances which had been withheld in the heat of the crisis; and to agree on when to re-present the 2025 Budget.

But Honourable Opunede, representing Akuku-Toru Constituency 2, has said there will be no such meeting. He dismissed the invitation from the Governor for a crucial meeting as a no event.

Opunede, in an online video told Governor Fubara to “dey his dey” (stay on your own) while the Assembly members do the same.

He insisted that given the mode of the transmission of the invitation, it will not be possible for them to honour it.

Opunede: “How can you write a letter for the House of Assembly and put it on Social Media and expect us to come. The Governor should write us the proper way.”

There are rumours that the Members are bent on humiliating the Governor, and, as an icing on the cake, impeach him. But there are also strong speculations that a number of the Assembly Members of Ijaw extraction are no longer anxious to impeach the Governor. They are urging for a meeting ground foe the progress of the State.