The Rivers State House of Assembly has begun proceedings to impeach Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Oduh.
During a plenary presided over by the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Martins Amaewhule, according to a live broadcast on Channels Television on Thursday, the Majority Leader, Major Jack, read out the notice of allegations and gross misconduct against the governor.
Twenty-six members of the Rivers State House of Assembly signed the notice, which they alleged was against the Nigerian Constitution.
Amaewhule said the notice will be served to Fubara in the next seven days.
The Deputy Majority Leader of the House, Linda Stewart, also read out the notice of allegations and gross misconduct against Oduh, the deputy governor.
Among the claims, lawmakers accused the governor of changing state monies into dollars and reportedly paying individuals in Abuja to persuade President Bola Tinubu not to call him to deliver the 2026 budget.
Amaewhule stated that the notice would be delivered to the governor within seven days, in accordance with constitutional procedures.
He also stated that the impeachment process had officially begun and that his role was to submit the notice as required by law. Amaewhule further cautioned that the governor’s attempt to propose the appropriation bill or the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework while the charges were being investigated would not halt the proceedings.
He claimed that the governor had continuously failed to produce a budget and that if Fubara had been willing, he would have done so sooner.
He said, “The particulars of gross misconduct have a lot to do with refusal to present a budget and spending outside the appropriation law.”
“There is a notice, and the process of impeachment is on, and having received it, my job is to forward it, and it is important that we allow this process to go through.
“The motion says that in the event that the governor tries, as he has always tried to do, to be smart by half, to now say he wants to bring the appropriation bill, or to present the medium-term expenditure framework, the movers of the motion say, ‘Let him hold on and allow the investigation of the allegation brought against him and the deputy governor to be concluded.’
“In any case, the governor does not want to present any budget, because if he wanted to, he would have brought it all this while.
“Siminalayi Fubara is a mistake; Rivers State has never had it this bad. In the entirety of Nigeria, Siminalayi Fubara and the deputy governor, Prof. Ngozi Odu, are the only ones in office at the sub-national level that are yet to present the 2026 appropriation bill in the entire country.
The Speaker further accused the governor of undermining the legislature, alleging that Fubara had boasted of seeking presidential intervention to restrain the Assembly and had described the 10th Rivers Assembly as a “toothless bulldog.”
He said, “I’m sure if you go to the West African region or Africa, you will not find any subnational government that has not presented the 2026 appropriation bill.
“Who would believe that in this 21st century a state like River won’t have an appropriation bill either presented or passed? Nothing is holding the governor from presenting it; he chose not to.
“And the governor has been boasting that he will always go and meet the president for him to call us and give us instruction. He has been saying to his followers that this 10th Rivers Assembly is nothing but a toothless bulldog, and we can’t do anything or enforce the constitution.
“This is a sad commentary for our democracy. Sir Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy are nothing but a threat to democracy, and if they are left in office, I don’t know what will happen.”
He added that the impeachment motion was primarily motivated by the refusal to present the budget, noting that several meetings had previously been held with President Tinubu and the former governor of the state and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, in an attempt to resolve the crisis.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
