Yesterday, lawmakers in Rivers State disagreed with Governor Siminalayi Fubara when he said that some elders were making it hard for him to meet with them (lawmakers).
Assembly Speaker Martins Amaewhule, who spoke in Port Harcourt, the state capital, said that the governor’s claim that Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister Nyesom Wike didn’t keep his promise to set up a meeting between him and the lawmakers was insulting.
Amaewhule claimed that after the emergency rule, the parliamentarians met with the governor many times, but Fubara refused to carry out the resolutions made at the peace conference, according to The Nation.
The Speaker remembered that Wike set up a meeting between the governor and the 27 members of the Assembly at the minister’s official home in Abuja.
He also remembered that Wike set up another meeting at the home of the local government chairman, Chief Ferdinand Alabraba. This meeting included members of the Elders Council, several MPs, and the governor.
Amaewhule claimed that Fubara had no justification to attack the minister and Alabraba after such meetings because the governor had not shown leadership.
He remembered that during one of the sessions between the governor and the lawmakers, Fubara told them that he would not bring any more Appropriation Bills before the Assembly.
The Speaker was upset that the Assembly didn’t know what the governor was doing and that Fubara had been spending money without the lawmakers’ permission.
He continued, “We established an emergency rule, and after that, we asked the governor to present his budget so we could accomplish everything he wanted to do. We told him to show us his budget.
“In 2024, he spent money without permission. He was spending money in 2025. We arranged a meeting after the emergency and asked him to bring his budget.
“At that meeting, the governor made it clear that he wasn’t going to bring the budget. God is my witness. I shouldn’t have brought all of these things because we’re trying to fix things between us. We stayed quiet, thinking the governor would do the right thing.
“Since September, the governor has been spending money without our permission. He has been giving contracts to his friends, especially those who planned the burning of the Rivers State House of Assembly. They are making fun of us because they got paid for burning the Rivers House of Assembly.
“The governor doesn’t need the Rivers Assembly’s permission. He has been spending money that he has in his back pocket.
This conference is happening because of the governor’s outburst. We need to make things right. The FCT Minister wants the best for Rivers State. He wants the state to move forward and be at peace.
“The minister called all the members of the State House of Assembly to a meeting at his official home in Abuja, and 27 of us were there. We had a meeting with the governor, and he sat with us. We were very surprised when the governor said that there had been no meeting.
“After the emergency rule, the FCT minister also held a meeting in Chief Alabraba’s house in GRA, Port Harcourt.
“We held the elders’ council meeting, and several members were there. How many meetings does the governor want the FCT minister to set up so that he can do what he needs to do? Is it one hundred? We didn’t want to hold this press conference because we have decided, thanks to Mr. President’s help, to put down our swords and let peace prevail.
“We didn’t want to talk to the press because we didn’t want to make things worse. Even when he said he wouldn’t introduce his appropriation bill, we stayed quiet.
Amaewhule added that as they were looking into what happened during the emergency rule, they found out that the former Rivers Administrator left the state with a huge N600 billion in its accounts.
He said that maybe the governor was angry because the House Committee on Education sent a report that showed how Fubara’s policies had ruined the state’s schools.
Amaewhule added, “One thing we learned about what happened during the emergency rule is that the outgoing administrator left over N600 billion in Rivers State’s account.” The governor has been bragging about how he will use the money to split the legislature and buy off its members.
“The governor needs to know that Assembly members are not for sale. The 27 of us are still dedicated to the hopes and dreams of the people and our constituencies. We are ready to help Rivers and do what has to be done.
“The governor’s angry outburst against the FCT minister won’t help him. The governor doesn’t need to respond right now just because the house committee on education sent him a report. The governor should recognize that he should be a leader as the governor. He is failing right now.
“He doesn’t want to be in charge. His outburst doesn’t make him look like a leader. He is sending his attack dogs to criticize us on social media. This won’t help him. He pays them money every day to make fun of us. It won’t help him. Rivers doesn’t want any of those things.
“He needs to be a leader. We are proving the governor’s claims wrong. We have been meeting with him, but he hasn’t been following the rules. He doesn’t want to follow the rules. But we shall be calm.
“In 2023, we began making plans to transition to the APC. As soon as he heard we were making the arrangements, he raced to the courts and paid persons with more than 50 cases to make sure our seats were declared vacant. But none of his efforts worked. We welcome the governor to the APC now that he is a member. The governor should execute his duty according to the law.
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