The political temperature in Rivers State rose again on Thursday, as Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Martin Amaewhule, accused Governor Siminalayi Fubara of taking actions capable of plunging the state back into crisis.
Addressing journalists in Port Harcourt alongside 10 lawmakers, Amaewhule faulted the governor’s recent comments suggesting that his political benefactor, the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, had failed to facilitate a reconciliation meeting with pro-Wike legislators.
Governor Fubara, while speaking at a project inauguration on Wednesday, had insisted he remained committed to peace and was willing to meet all conditions outlined by the lawmakers loyal to Wike.
But the Speaker countered those claims, describing them as “false and unnecessary,” insisting that several reconciliation meetings had already been held in Abuja and Port Harcourt with both parties present.
Amaewhule accused the governor of shutting out the Assembly, refusing to work with lawmakers, and spending from the 2024 and 2025 budgets without the legally required approvals.
He also alleged that the governor had reneged on previous agreements reached during peace efforts.
The Speaker further claimed that Governor Fubara was mismanaging state finances, including the reported N600 billion left in the treasury after the exit of the former administrator under the emergency rule, Rear Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (rtd.).
According to him, “The governor is preparing the ground for another round of crisis. Rivers people have suffered enough. Leadership is about responsibility, not trading blames.”
Amaewhule said the Assembly remained committed to peace and aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda, stressing that legislators “are not for sale” despite alleged attempts to divide them.
He also accused the governor’s media supporters of launching repeated online attacks against lawmakers, warning that “insults and propaganda” would not resolve the state’s political stalemate.
The Rivers political crisis, which has lingered for over a year, continues to draw national attention as residents await a lasting resolution.