BREAKING: Ganduje-led APC Wades Into Rivers Political Crisis, Lays Out Allegation against Fubara

• The ruling APC has taken a swipe at the governor of Rivers state, Siminalayi Fubara for declaring the 27 house of assembly members who defected from the PDP to the party as non-existent
• The APC warned Fubara against "abrogating" the nation’s constitution and turning himself into 'despot-in-chief of the Rivers state house of assembly'
• Addressing journalists at the national secretariat of the party in Abuja, Barrister Felix Morka, the national spokesperson of the APC, asked Governor Fubara to submit himself to the dictates of the constitution

Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9 years of experience covering politics and elections in Nigeria.

FCT, Abuja - The All Progressives Congress (APC) on Friday, May 10, said Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers state cannot abrogate the Nigerian constitution.

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In a statement signed by Felix Morka, the national spokesperson of the ruling party, the APC said Governor Fubara’s alleged quest to “repudiate the constitution and “govern in denial of the existence of the state legislature is, in and of itself, among other grounds, an impeachable offence”.

Rivers has been enmeshed in a political crisis since October 2023 after some lawmakers backed by the immediate-past governor of the state and current minister of the federal capital territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, attempted to impeach Fubara.

The crisis decreased in December 2023 when President Bola Tinubu brokered a peace deal between Wike and Fubara. But it seems to be resuscitating.

Impeachment plot against Fubara

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Legit.ng recalls that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) organised a press conference on Wednesday, May 8, where the party said the over 20 APC lawmakers at the Rivers house of assembly cannot impeach Governor Fubara 'because they are no longer members of the house'.

The party (PDP) had stated that the directive by the state APC chapter for the lawmakers to commence impeachment proceedings against the governor was in vain.

But the Abdullahi Ganduje-led APC, via Morka, on Friday afternoon, May 10, described the argument presented by the PDP as "hogwash".

The APC (national) asserted that Governor Fubara "is actively and vehemently precipitating his own impeachment".

APC tackles Fubara on "reckless" statement

Responding to Fubara's statement where the governor criticised the attitude of the members of the Rivers state house of assembly towards his administration, and said some state legislators who are loyalists of Wike "are not existing", the APC said it is an affront to the Nigerian constitution.

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The party's statement partly reads:

"Governor Fubara's declaration that the Rivers state house of assembly does not exist is not only reckless, it is a direct affront to the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria."

'27 defected legislators bonafide members of Rivers assembly'

Furthermore, defending the pro-Wike lawmakers who defected to the APC in late 2023, the governing central party said they "did not lose their membership of the assembly by virtue of their decampment."

The APC added:

"Only a properly-constituted court of law can make a determination as to whether a member of the house of assembly has vacated his seat.

"As no such judicial determination has been made, the 27 APC members of the house of assembly remain the constitutionally-recognised and authorised members of the Rivers state house of assembly."

Rivers 'speaker' nullifies laws made by defected legislators

Legit.ng earlier reported that Victor Oko-Jumbo, the new factional speaker of the Rivers state house of assembly, declared that all laws, plenary sessions and actions taken by some rebel lawmakers are 'nullities in the eyes of the law'.

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Why 27 Pro-Wike Rivers lawmakers lack powers to serve Fubara impeachment notice, G-60 Reps explain

Oko-Jumbo expressed gratitude to the lawmakers who reportedly elected him as the new speaker following the resignation of Edison Ehie, the former occupier of that role.

Source: Legit.ng