The Rivers State House of Assembly has begun impeachment proceedings against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Oduh.

During plenary presided over by the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Martins Amaewhule, according to a live broadcast on Channels Television on Thursday, the Majority Leader, Major Jack, read out the notice of allegations and gross misconduct against Fubara.

Twenty-six members of the Rivers State House of Assembly signed the notice, which they alleged was against the Nigerian Constitution.

Amaewhule said the notice will be served to Fubara in the next seven days.

The Deputy Majority Leader of the House, Linda Stewart, also read out the notice of allegations and gross misconduct against Oduh.

More to follow…

The Labour Party’s Vice Presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Senator Datti Baba-Ahmed, on Wednesday formally declared his interest in contesting the presidency in 2027, amid ongoing realignments within Nigeria’s opposition space.

Baba-Ahmed, who was the running mate to former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, made the declaration at a rally held at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.

His announcement comes barely one week after Obi announced his departure from the Labour Party for the African Democratic Congress.
This move has triggered intense debate over the party’s future and the direction of the wider opposition ahead of the next general election.

Addressing party members and supporters, Baba-Ahmed said his aspiration was neither reactionary nor dependent on Obi’s political decisions, stressing that his presidential ambition predates the 2023 election.

He said, “I have made myself to contest for the office in 2027. I’m not following anybody’s trajectory or stepping into anybody’s shoes.

“Can I please remind you that before His Excellency Governor Peter Obi filed for the presidency, I aspired for the presidency before him? The records are there for you to see.”

The former lawmaker recalled his earlier attempt to secure his party’s presidential ticket, noting that he had contested in the Peoples Democratic Party primaries years before aligning with Obi in the Labour Party.

“In October 2018, I participated in the primaries of the then PDP in Port Harcourt and walked to Obi for his vote, and he smiled at me. What a gentleman he was.

“If you heard me well in what I just submitted, I saw a rare opportunity for national unity to have elected Peter Obi in 2023. And that is why I decided to flow with it,” he said.

Baba-Ahmed also addressed concerns about religion and ethnicity, insisting that Nigeria’s constitution guarantees every qualified citizen the right to seek elective office.

“Yes, I am a practising Muslim. But I’m a Nigerian, and the constitution allows me to contest. You asked about my ethnicity. Yes, I am a Hausa man, and the Nigerian constitution also allows me to contest. I’m doing this because Nigeria needs help,” he said.

However, Baba-Ahmed noted that while he had made his intention known, he would adhere strictly to party and electoral guidelines.

“However, as a law-abiding citizen and a loyal party member, until the timetable is released by INEC and the leadership of the Labour Party calls for interested aspirants, I will not say anything about it. But remember I told you that Nigerians know the truth,” he stated.

Reacting, the National Chairman of the Labour Party, Julius Abure, commended Baba-Ahmed for remaining in the party despite speculations that he might defect following Obi’s exit.

Abure said the development demonstrated that the Labour Party remained intact, adding that several key figures, including the Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, had also chosen to stay back.

He said, “Only recently, the Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, told the world that he joined the party before Peter Obi did – this is true. Otti also said he was not going to defect to Peter Obi.

“On the night Peter Obi defected, I received a telephone call from our Vice-Presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Dr Datti Baba-Ahmed. He said he is not leaving the party because it was the platform upon which he, along with the former candidate, received 10 million votes from Nigerians, which was reduced to 6 million votes. We all know what happened.”

Abure further disclosed that Baba-Ahmed personally suggested a meeting of party leaders and members to reaffirm unity within the party.

“In fact, he asked me to organise an event where members can come together. He first suggested that we meet at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel with a few senior members that he would foot the bill.

“But I suggested that we hold the event here at the party Secretariat and invite our members, artisans and ordinary people who truly own the party, and he agreed. That is why we are having this gathering here today.

“The Labour Party is intact, we will not let Nigerians down. We will remain together and provide a genuine alternative for Nigerians,” he said.

Baba-Ahmed’s declaration has added a fresh dimension to the emerging 2027 presidential contest, as parties begin early positioning amid shifting alliances within the opposition.

Orji Kalu, Senator representing Abia North, says Alex Otti, governor of Abia, overrates himself politically, adding that he needed the backing of key stakeholders to win the 2023 governorship election.

In a statement issued on Tuesday by George Maduka, the lawmaker’s media aide, Kalu said he remains committed to delivering Abia state to the APC.

On Monday, Otti said he would support the Labour Party (LP) candidate for Abia North to defeat Kalu in the 2027 elections.

Otti spoke while reacting to recent comments by Kalu, who vowed to ensure that the APC takes over Abia State in 2027.

Kalu, a former Abia governor, said the APC is united and solid in the state, adding that there is no division within the party.

He alleged that if any party is grappling with internal crises in Abia, it is the LP led by Otti.

The senator alleged that several local government chairmen who came to office through the LP are now operating from other political platforms, including the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) and the Young Progressives Party (YPP).

The former governor challenged Otti to deny visiting his residence in his hometown late at night on the eve of the 2023 election.

“If he was not relevant, why was his house in Igbere visited on the night before the election?” he queried.

He recalled that key figures involved in the LP’s 2023 campaign, including Umeh Kalu, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), who served as the party’s state coordinator, held discussions with him.

Kalu said seeking such intervention contradicts Otti’s claims that he is politically irrelevant.

The senator challenged Otti to confront him directly instead of using media aides to issue statements on his behalf.

Kalu said he remains determined to deliver the APC at all levels in Abia “without apology or pretence”.