A political group within the All Progressives Congress (APC) from the South-South region has made a startling claim about the ongoing political crisis in Rivers State. The group alleges that the move by the State House of Assembly to impeach Governor Siminalayi Fubara is directly linked to his refusal to approve what they describe as fictitious projects in the state's 2026 budget proposal.
Budget Dispute at Heart of Impeachment Threat
Comrade Freedom Amadi, the coordinator of the APC South-South Group, presented this allegation during a press briefing in Port Harcourt on Friday, January 9, 2026. Amadi stated that the impeachment proceedings are not a result of Governor Fubara breaching the peace agreement previously brokered by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Instead, he framed it as a retaliatory action by lawmakers whose demands for inflated budget items were rejected by the governor.
"What is unfolding in Rivers state is not a constitutional dispute but a deliberate attempt to punish a sitting governor for refusing to mortgage public finances for private political interests," Amadi asserted. He stressed that the governor's stance was an act of fiscal responsibility, not bad faith.
Defiance of Presidential Authority and Wike's Alleged Role
The group strongly criticised statements from some assembly members suggesting that presidential intervention could not stop the impeachment process. The APC South-South warned that such rhetoric constitutes open defiance of presidential authority and poses a significant threat to democratic stability in the state and the nation.
Furthermore, the group pointed fingers at the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike. Amadi alleged that the lawmakers pushing for impeachment are loyalists of Wike, the immediate past governor of Rivers and Fubara's political benefactor. "It is impossible to separate the current impeachment threats from the political influence of Minister Nyesom Wike," he claimed.
The group also questioned Wike's silence on the matter, noting his position in an APC-led federal government despite being a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). This, they said, raises concerns about his loyalty to President Tinubu, who appointed him.
Calls for Suspension and Intervention
The APC South-South Group has issued a clear call to action. They urged the Rivers State House of Assembly to immediately suspend all impeachment proceedings against Governor Fubara. They argued that using impeachment as a tool for political vendetta would severely erode public trust in democratic institutions and damage the credibility of the legislature.
To prevent what they termed legislative excesses, the group appealed for the National Assembly to intervene in the crisis. Their position aligns with an earlier rejection of the impeachment move by the Rivers State chapter of the APC, which described the development as "untenable" and a potential source of destabilisation.
The group reiterated that the core purpose of President Tinubu's peace deal was to restore governance and constitutional order in Rivers State, not to create a pathway for political control through coercive legislative measures.
