From Tony Nwizi
The 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) is unequivocal on the status of legislators who defect from their political parties. Section 109(1)(g) provides that a member of a State House of Assembly automatically vacates his seat upon defection from the party that sponsored his election, except where such defection is occasioned by a proven division or merger within that party.
The members of the Amaewule-led Rivers State House of Assembly recently decamped from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the absence of any known or established crisis within the PDP. This action is clearly frowned upon by the Constitution and has the immediate legal effect of vacating their seats. Having constitutionally displaced themselves, they lack the locus standi to initiate or sustain any impeachment process against Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
It is a settled principle that he who goes to equity must come with clean hands. Lawmakers who are themselves in open breach of the Constitution cannot credibly accuse the Governor of constitutional violations. Their impeachment move is therefore not only legally defective but also morally bankrupt.
More fundamentally, this action is selfish, politically motivated, and entirely disconnected from the collective interest of Rivers people. It does not advance governance, stability, or development, but merely serves narrow personal and partisan ends.
The attempt to anchor this process on the 2025 budget further exposes its emptiness. That budget has effectively expired with the end of the 2025 fiscal year, having been duly passed by the National Assembly, assented to by the President, and implemented under the authority of the Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (rtd.). It cannot validly sustain any impeachment narrative.
In the end, this impeachment venture is bound to fail. The Amaewule-led House stands on a legally broken foundation, while the Governor has no constitutional clogs in his wheels. Law, equity, and the overwhelming interest of Rivers people are firmly against this ill-fated exercise.
Anthony Nwizi is the Director General of Ebonyi Broadcasting Corporation, EBBC.
