In a fiery press conference that has reignited the bitter political standoff in Rivers State, Speaker of the House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Martins Amaewhule, delivered a blistering public rebuttal to Governor Siminalayi Fubara on Thursday, following the governor’s contentious remarks at a road commissioning the previous day. Speaking on behalf of the 27 pro-Wike lawmakers who control the House after defections from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), Amaewhule accused Fubara of flouting constitutional norms, spreading falsehoods, and undermining fragile peace efforts brokered by federal and elder stakeholders.

The message was blunt and laced with indignation. The governor had lied to the people of Rivers State about attending post-emergency reconciliation meetings convened by FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, including sessions at the residence of elder statesman Chief Ferdinand Alabraba, also referred to as Chief Alaibe, and involving the Rivers Elders Council chairman. “The FCT Minister means well for Rivers State. He wants peace,” Amaewhule declared, dismissing Fubara’s denial of these gatherings as “nothing but a lie.” The lawmakers insisted the governor was present at least two such meetings in Abuja and Port Harcourt, where commitments for reconciliation were made but remain unmet. These exchanges, the Speaker warned, risk reopening fault lines stabilized only recently by President Bola Tinubu’s intervention during a period of emergency rule and fraught governance resumption.

At the heart of the legislative fury are explosive accusations of fiscal irresponsibility. The Assembly claims the sole administrator left over ₦600 billion in state coffers, a figure cited to demand accountability for the inexplicable failure to deliver visible public services like schools. More damningly, Amaewhule alleged that since September, Fubara has been awarding lucrative contracts and spending public funds without the constitutionally required ratification from the House. “The governor has been spending without our approval, giving contracts to allies, and flaunting it online,” he fumed, recounting how Fubara allegedly refused to present a supplementary budget for the remainder of 2025 despite pleas during emergency rule. “We discussed with him in the meeting, saying, look, bring your budget so that we can take care of all you intend to do. There in that meeting, the governor told us blatantly that he will not do it. God is my witness.”

@thenigerialawyer“Governor Spending Without Our Approval Since September, Giving Contracts To Allies” — Amaewhule Says Fubara Flouting Constitutional Norms♬ original sound – TheNigeriaLawyer

The grievances extend to politically charged claims of cronyism and betrayal. Lawmakers expressed shock that contracts were funneled to “cronies, particularly those who masterminded the burning of the Rivers Assembly” during the 2023 arson attack on the complex, with recipients “celebrating it on social media, mocking us that they’d been rewarded.” Fubara was further accused of boasting about “raising funds to divide the assembly” and deploying “media attack dogs” to hurl insults online and on airwaves. “Rivers State is not for sale,” the assembly members affirmed, reaffirming loyalty to their constituents.

Beyond accounting, the charges carry a sharp edge of personal and alliance politics. Amaewhule lambasted Fubara for disparaging Wike, an elder powerbroker and the governor’s predecessor, as well as Chief Alabraba, branding such outbursts “reactionary” and unbefitting of leadership. “Disparaging the FCT Minister and Chief Alaibe is not leadership,” he said, urging Fubara to “focus on what he was elected to do” rather than creating the impression of a communication breakdown to provoke another crisis. The Speaker described the governor’s comments as unnecessary and condemnable, a deliberate act to sabotage the peace process.

In a nod to broader reconciliation, Amaewhule invoked President Tinubu’s “Renewed Hope Agenda,” revealing that the full assembly had passed a resolution endorsing the president’s 2027 re-election bid regardless of party lines. Extending an olive branch to Fubara, who recently joined the APC, the Speaker welcomed him to “join forces” for the state’s progress. “We have enormous respect for Mr. President for what he has done for Rivers and is still doing,” he added, while calling on Rivers people to disregard the governor’s rhetoric and remain vigilant amid persisting tensions.

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