The Rivers State House of Assembly has suspended the impeachment proceedings against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the Deputy Governor, Ngozi Odu.
The suspension followed President Bola Tinubu’s intervention.
At it resumed plenary on Thursday in Port Harcourt, the state lawmakers moved the motion to pend the impeachment.
The New Daily Prime earlier reported that the House at its first sitting in 2026, began the impeachment proceedings against Fubara and his deputy over alleged gross misconduct, the demolition of the state assembly complex, and spending without legislative approval, among others.
The lawmakers noted that the the notices of allegations were brought pursuant to Section 188 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) against the governor and his deputy.
In a letter dated Friday, January 16, 2026, the Assembly requested the state Chief Judge, Justice Simeon Amadi, to set up a seven-man panel to investigate the allegations against Fubara and Odu.
However, Justice Amadi declined the request, stating that he was restrained by a subsisting High Court order from taking further action on the matter.
Fubara and Odu, in separate suits challenging the impeachment process, had secured injunctions from a High Court in Port Harcourt restraining the Chief Judge from acting on the Assembly’s request or constituting the probe panel.
In his response to the Assembly, the Chief Judge also noted that the Speaker and the Rivers State House of Assembly had appealed the restraining order granted by the High Court.
The impeachment proceedings were initiated days after the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, accused the governor of reneging on a peace agreement brokered by President Bola Tinubu in 2025.
Tinubu had met with Fubara and Wike at the President’s official residence in Aso Rock, Abuja.
Confirming the meeting, Wike expressed strong optimism that the lingering political crisis in the state is close to a lasting resolution, following what he described as a decisive intervention by the President.
