On Thursday, Rivers-based activist Jake Epelle asserted that any efforts to impeach Siminalayi Fubara, initiated by former governor Nyesom Wike and his supporters within the state’s House of Assembly, are destined to fail.
Epelle emphasized that Wike cannot promote peace while simultaneously encouraging his allies in the Martins Amaewhule-led legislature to pursue the impeachment of the current governor of the oil-rich state.
“Let them go and try impeachment, they will not succeed,” Epelle said on a televised show.
“Nobody will impeach Fubara. I say that openly on national television because he hasn’t committed any impeachable offence. Nobody will impeach him; the people are solidly behind him.
“Will anything happen if he is impeached? No; the Rivers people are not troublesome the way we are painted but we will stand behind him (Fubara) and stand behind democracy.
“If we don’t stem the tide of this chaos, it can happen to any other person. This threat of impeachment going round should stop.”
The ongoing conflict between the Wike-supported House of Assembly and Governor Fubara shows no signs of resolution. On Wednesday, the governor was barred from entering the Assembly Quarters when he arrived to present the state’s 2025 Budget, as required by the Assembly following the Supreme Court ruling on February 28, 2025.
Governor Fubara stated that he had informed Amaewhule of his visit; however, the Assembly claimed it had not received any notification regarding this matter.
As this situation unfolded in the South-South state, Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), remarked during a media briefing in Abuja that it would be justifiable for the lawmakers to remove Fubara due to alleged impeachable offenses, including the prolonged withholding of their salaries.
Activist Epelle criticized the Assembly for its treatment of the governor and for failing to pursue a peaceful resolution. He also condemned Wike for exacerbating the situation with his threats of impeachment against Fubara.
Epelle said, “Wike doesn’t have the constitutional power to impeach a governor. He can call for impeachment (but) he is not a member of the State Assembly.
“He has the right in his personal opinion to call for his (Fubara’s) impeachment but the people that will execute the impeachment are members of the State Assembly.
“Is there anybody beating the drum for the masquerade that is dancing? Of course, there is.
“I was told that at the point that the governor was coming to the gate, they (assembly members) received a call from Abuja (whoever made that call, I don’t know), that they shouldn’t see the governor.
“So, it’s a case of somebody beating the drum somewhere and the state assembly people are dancing to the beatings of the drum or acting the script that they were given. That’s very unfair.”
