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Moves Begin to Recall 26 Rivers Lawmakers as Lawyers Write INEC Over Fubara Impeachment

Published by admin on January 9th, 2026.

Moves Begin to Recall 26 Rivers Lawmakers as Lawyers Write INEC Over Fubara Impeachment

A group of legislative lawyers operating under the Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners, ALDRAP, has initiated steps to recall 26 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, including Speaker Martin Amaewhule, following the impeachment action taken against Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

The development comes after the lawmakers on Thursday launched impeachment proceedings against the governor, accusing him of gross misconduct and alleged financial mismanagement.

ALDRAP confirmed that it has formally written to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, notifying the commission of its intention to commence the recall process. In the letter, the association requested certified true copies of the voters’ registers for all state constituencies in Rivers State.

According to the lawyers’ group, several of its members are registered voters in the affected constituencies, giving the association the legal standing to pursue the recall of the lawmakers. ALDRAP warned that it would approach the court to compel INEC to release the documents if the commission fails to comply.

In the letter dated January 8, 2026, and signed by ALDRAP’s Secretary, Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja, the association accused the lawmakers of acting in violation of a Supreme Court judgment delivered in February 2025. The judgment had urged the Rivers State House of Assembly to resolve disputes with the governor through peaceful and amicable means.

The group noted that the lawmakers ignored this directive by resorting to impeachment, despite the fact that both the governor and the legislators are members of the same political party, the All Progressives Congress, APC. ALDRAP argued that internal party conflict-resolution mechanisms should have been fully explored before taking such drastic action.

The association further described its intervention as being in the public interest, stressing that the recall effort reflects the will of concerned constituents across the state who were neither consulted nor authorised the impeachment move.

Reacting further, ALDRAP declared that the impeachment notice against Governor Fubara was invalid from the outset. The group cited what it described as serious legal defects, including the improper manner in which the governor was addressed in the impeachment letter and the absence of endorsement from Rivers State constituents.

According to the lawyers, these flaws alone render the impeachment process ineffective and incapable of standing legal scrutiny.