The Rivers State House of Assembly has accused Governor Siminalayi Fubara of authorising public spending without legislative approval, escalating fresh tensions in a state still recovering from months of political unrest.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Speaker Martin Amaewhule alleged that the governor had continued to award contracts and release funds in violation of constitutional procedures.
Okay News reports that the accusation marks the strongest public pushback from lawmakers since the political truce brokered earlier in the year.
“From September, when we met the governor, till this day, the governor has been spending without our approval, awarding contracts to his cronies, particularly those who masterminded the burning of the Rivers house of assembly,” Amaewhule said.
“The governor does not seek the approval of the assembly to spend.”
The comments were a direct rebuttal to Governor Fubara’s statement on Wednesday, where he dismissed talk of a rift with the assembly and insisted he had made efforts to engage lawmakers.
The governor said claims that he avoided meetings with the assembly were “pure lies”.
Fubara said he had reached out repeatedly to the assembly leadership since his reinstatement in September but that no meeting was scheduled, a claim the lawmakers say is false.
Reacting to the governor’s comments, Amaewhule insisted the assembly met with him earlier in the year, facilitated by Nyesom Wike, Nigeria’s Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.
“It’s important I make this clarification; first and foremost, the governor lied when he said he hasn’t been able to meet with members of the Rivers state house of assembly,” the speaker said.
“Shortly after the state of emergency was called off, the FCT minister called a meeting with the governor and principal officials of the assembly. I can confirm I was in that meeting.”
He accused the governor of “deliberately painting a false picture” of broken communication to stir public sympathy and “set the stage for renewed political instability”.
Rivers State has been engulfed in a prolonged crisis that led President Bola Tinubu to declare a state of emergency in March.
The president suspended Fubara, his deputy, and the lawmakers after violent clashes and an attempted impeachment rocked the state.
The suspension was lifted in September, paving the way for a fragile return to governance.
