Olusegun ARIYO
Contents
Legislative lawyers under the aegis of the Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners, ALDRAP, have commenced moves to recall 26 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, including the Speaker, Martin Amaewhule, over the impeachment proceedings initiated by the lawmakers against Governor Sim Fubara.Urban Express News reports that the Rivers lawmakers had on Thursday commenced an impeachment process against Fubara, accusing him of gross misconduct, including financial misappropriation.ALDRAP disclosed the commencement of the recall process in a letter addressed to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.In the letter, the lawyers’ association demanded certified true copies, CTCs, of the voters’ register of all the state constituencies in Rivers State.The legislative lawyers association, in the letter obtained by DAILY POST on Friday, said several of its members are constituents of the said lawmakers and as such, it has the legal right to initiate the recall process.ALDRAP put INEC on notice that it would go to court to press for the release of the CTCs of the voters’ registers if the Commission fails to make them available.Parts of the letter dated January 8, 2026, and signed by ALDRAP Secretary, Dr Tonye Clinton Jaja, SCN, read, “Notice of commencement of recall of Rt. Hon. Martin Amaewhule, Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly and 25 other legislators of the House of Assembly who signed the impeachment notice dated 8th January 2026 and requested certified true copies (CTCs) of the voter register of all the state constituencies of the Rivers State House of Assembly.“Contrary to the judgment of February 2025 of the Supreme Court of Nigeria that enjoined the members of the Rivers State House of Assembly to work in peaceful harmony with the Governor of Rivers State by exploring and exhausting amicable methods to resolve conflicts, the members of the Rivers State House of Assembly have once again initiated belligerent methods.“Ironically, both the Governor of Rivers State and the said members of the Rivers State House of Assembly are members of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and ought to have explored and exhausted internal dispute resolution mechanisms.“In light of the foregoing, as a public interest organisation of lawyers majority of whom are constituents of all state constituencies of the Rivers State House of Assembly, we hereby demand the aforementioned certified true copies (CTC) and put your Commission on notice.”In a further reaction to the development, ALDRAP declared that the impeachment notice is dead on arrival because the lawmakers referred to Governor Fubara as “madam” in the letter addressed to him.“The letter of notice of impeachment against Governor Fubara is dead on arrival for two legal reasons: (1) Fundamental flaw of addressing Governor Fubara as “madam” and (2) the constituents of Rivers State did not endorse or authorise the lawmakers of Rivers State House of Assembly to commence impeachment against Governor Fubara,” ALDRAP said.
