Rivers Government Reacts As Assembly Demands Sack Of Commissioners

The Rivers State House of Assembly, led by Speaker Martin Amaewhule, on Wednesday issued a 48-hour ultimatum to Governor Siminialayi Fubara, demanding the dismissal of all commissioners and the submission of a new list of nominees for screening and appointment.

However, in a swift rebuttal, the state government dismissed the directive, describing it as baseless and overreaching.

Reacting to the ultimatum, State Commissioner for Environment, Sydney Tambari, accused the 27 pro-Wike lawmakers of acting on a figment of their imagination and attempting to exceed their constitutional boundaries.

Naija News reports that Tambari maintained that all serving commissioners had already undergone the necessary screening and confirmation by the legally recognized leadership of the House under former Speaker Edison Ehie, who is now Chief of Staff to the Governor.

“I was screened by Edison Ehie, who was duly recognized by the court as Speaker of the House of Assembly. Before then, this group of people had defected from the PDP and gone to wherever they went to,” Tambari stated.

He further noted that after Ehie’s resignation, his successor, Victor Oko-Jumbo, also presided over the screening and confirmation of additional commissioners and political appointees.

According To Tambari, “The governor cannot send any fresh list of nominees to this Assembly. Their demand for the sacking of the commissioners has been overtaken by events because all appointees were duly screened.”

Tambari Faults Lawmakers’ Interpretation Of Supreme Court Ruling

Tambari also criticized the lawmakers for allegedly misinterpreting the Supreme Court ruling, which, according to him, only addressed the 2024 budget presentation and did not mandate the removal of commissioners or political appointees.

He said, “The Supreme Court talked about the budget, not about sacking commissioners. The presentation of the budget is at the discretion of the governor, and this has already been overtaken by events.”

The political tension in Rivers State has continued to escalate amid a deepening rift between Governor Fubara and the pro-Wike lawmakers, who were previously sacked after defecting from the PDP to the APC but were reinstated by the Supreme Court.