The Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon Martins Amaewhule, has issued a letter to Governor Siminalayi Fubara, demanding the sack of all 19 commissioners and political appointees who were not screened by him. Amaewhule also requested that the Governor submit a fresh list of nominees for appointment as commissioners and fill vacancies in all offices within 48 hours.

The letter stated that the Governor’s “attention should once again be drawn to your illegal appointments of persons to serve in various offices without forwarding their names for screening and confirmation as required by the 1999 constitution as amended and other extant laws”.

Amaewhule specifically criticized the Governor’s failure to forward the name of Dagogo Iboroma for screening as Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice, citing contravention of sections 192 (2) and (5) as well as section 195 (1) of the 1999 constitution as amended.

In response, Commissioner for Environment Hon Sydney Tambari dismissed the lawmakers’ demands, stating that they were acting on “the stigma of their imagination” and overstepping their bounds. Tambari explained that all commissioners were screened by the then Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon Edison Ehie, who was recognized by the court as the authentic speaker.

Tambari further stated that the Governor cannot send a fresh list of nominees to the Assembly, as all commissioners and political appointees were duly screened. He also accused the lawmakers of acting outside the decision of the Supreme Court, which addressed the 2024 budget, not the sacking of commissioners and appointees.