The Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has requested that members of the House of Assembly commence impeachment procedures against Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
The party’s temporary Chairman, Tony Okocha, stated during a press conference in Port Harcourt on Tuesday that the party will not sit back and let the governor disrespect President Bola Tinubu.
He further said that if the Assembly members failed to restart the impeachment proceedings against the governor, he would impose Party discipline on them.
“It would be foolish of us to sit down and watch someone far less than Mr. President attack him right in front of us.
“It is also an (sic) absurd(ity) to see the governor espouse impunity and intimidation on a people who are members of our political party, and we stand akimbo doing nothing.”
Speaking further, Mr Okocha said, “As representatives of Mr President we won’t sit here and see the governor insult the President. We won’t sit here to see the governor declare on his own as if he’s a court to declare Assembly members’ seats vacant.”
He further threatened that if the Assembly members fail to restart the impeachment proceedings against the Governor he would invoke Party discipline upon them.
“To that extent, in consultation with my Party, we are directing APC members who are in the Assembly to immediately commence the impeachment of Governor Sim Fubara.
“And if they don’t do that, there’s what they call Party discipline, and we shall invoke that section of the Constitution and deal decisively with them,” he stated.
Fubara had on Monday criticised the attitude of the members of the Rivers State House of Assembly towards his administration, saying the members will cease to exist as legislators if he so decides.
He said the lawmakers are existing based on his recognition predicated on the Peace Accord initiated by President Bola Tinubu.
He said, “Those group of men who claim that are Assembly members are not Assembly members, they are not existing. I want it to be on record. I accepted that Peace Accord to give them a floating. That is the truth. There was nothing in that Peace Accord that’s a constitutional issue; it’s a political solution to a problem. And I accepted it because these were people that were eating in my house, these were people I have helped paid their children’s school fees when I wasn’t even a governor. So, what is the thing there?
“We might have our division but I believe that one day, we could also come together but it has gotten to a time when I have to make a statement that they are not existing. Their existence is me allowing them to exist. If I de-recognise them, they are nowhere. I want you to see the sacrifice I have made in allowing peace to reign in our state.”