Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State has urged members of the state House of Assembly to set aside their differences and work towards peace. The governor made this appeal on Thursday while commissioning projects in Okrika Local Government Area.
“It is important at this stage that we all embrace peace,” Fubara said, stressing the need for unity in the state. He called on all political actors to accept the Supreme Court’s verdict and move forward with its implementation.
“The Supreme Court has made its judgment, we don’t have any option but to abide by it, and by the special grace of God, we have started the process,” the governor stated.
Fubara urged all parties involved in the ongoing crisis to think about the people of Rivers State. “We are appealing to other parties: consider the interest of Rivers State. The only thing that we owe this state is peace and development. I am open any day, any time for total peace in our state because if I have to govern well, there is the need for peace,” he said.
Despite the governor’s appeal, tensions remain high between his administration and the House of Assembly, which is backed by his predecessor, Nyesom Wike.
The situation escalated on Wednesday when Fubara was denied entry into the Assembly Quarters, where he had gone to re-present the 2025 budget as required by the Supreme Court ruling on February 28, 2025.
The governor claimed he had informed Speaker Martins Amaewhule of his visit, but the Assembly stated it received no official communication.
Meanwhile, Wike, now the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, made a controversial remark during a media chat in Abuja. He stated that lawmakers had the right to remove Fubara from office if he had committed impeachable offenses, including withholding their salaries.
The Supreme Court’s ruling had previously recognized Amaewhule as the legitimate Speaker of the House and ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to withhold funds from the state government until it complied with court orders.
Additionally, the court nullified the local government elections conducted on October 5, 2024, and instructed the governor to organize a fresh poll and re-submit the 2025 budget to the Amaewhule-led Assembly.
