The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Nigeria’s Rivers State has made a surprise intervention to halt impeachment proceedings against Governor Siminalayi Fubara, warning that the move threatens to destabilise the oil-rich region.
In a strongly worded statement issued on Thursday, the party “solemnly rejected” the attempt by lawmakers to remove the governor and his deputy, Ngozi Oduh, from office.
The move marks a dramatic twist in the political crisis gripping one of Nigeria’s most economically significant states. While the legislature is dominated by members who recently defected to the APC, the party leadership now says it will not tolerate “fratricidal disagreements” that drag its name “through the mud.”
‘Don’t destabilise the state’
The impeachment notice, served earlier on Thursday, cited “gross misconduct” and issues related to the state budget. However, the APC spokesperson in Rivers, Darlington Nwauju, dismissed these grounds as an “obvious hangover” from previous internal disputes within the opposition PDP.
On the issue of the budget—a central point of the lawmakers’ grievance—the party argued that Governor Fubara is within his legal rights:
- Current Funding: A budget of 1.485 trillion naira ($930m) was approved by the National Assembly last year under emergency rules and remains valid until August 2026.
- Spending Windows: The party noted that the Nigerian constitution allows a governor a six-month spending window into a new fiscal year.
- Call to Order: The APC leadership urged its members in the House of Assembly to “resist pressures from outside” and immediately discontinue the impeachment process.
Why this matters
Rivers State is the heartbeat of Nigeria’s oil industry, and its political stability is seen as vital for the national economy.
The crisis is widely viewed as a power struggle between Governor Fubara and his predecessor, now a federal minister, though the APC leadership is now framing the governor’s administration as an “APC government” that must be protected.
The party warned that it would do “everything possible” to ensure the state government is not toppled, calling for a return to “democracy and not a politicocracy.”
Despite this directive from the party hierarchy, it remains unclear if the 26 lawmakers behind the impeachment notice—who have shown a high degree of independence from the state executive—will heed the call to stand down.
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