The uneasy truce between Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the Rivers State House of Assembly appears to be coming apart as lawmakers have expressed frustration over his failure to send a list of commissioner nominees for confirmation.
The assembly made its position known during Friday’s plenary, December 5, accusing the governor of slowing down governance by leaving key ministries without substantive heads.
The tension traces back to September 2025, when the House, after returning from months of crisis, asked the governor to forward a list of nominees as part of a rebuilding process. But three months later, no names have been presented.
Instead, Fubara dismissed all commissioners appointed at the height of the feud, insisting their appointments were invalid because they had not been screened by the assembly recognised by a Supreme Court judgment.
A few earlier‑screened commissioners were retained or reassigned, while most ministries are now run by permanent secretaries.
Critical portfolios such as Education and Communication remain vacant, and the governor has yet to explain the long delay in reconstituting his cabinet.
The House, which has adjourned plenary until January 26, 2026, might be heading for a fresh standoff with the governor.
Speaker Martin Amaewhule, who leads the faction loyal to former governor and now FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, has become increasingly vocal.
At a recent sitting, he condemned the administration’s performance, especially in education.
“Something has to be done to our schools, for our children, and for the future of this state,” Amaewhule said, lamenting the decay in public schools.
He accused the government of stalling the recruitment of 10,000 teachers approved during Wike’s tenure.
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“When it is time for protest, funds will come for people to go and protest. But when it is time to employ teachers and make teachers to be in the classrooms, there will be none,” he added.
The Speaker described the learning conditions as appalling, saying, “How will anybody believe that in 2025, in a state like Rivers, one teacher will be teaching two classrooms under one roof? The House will not allow this indolence to continue.”
Amaewhule also claimed that the former Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok‑Ete Ibas (rtd.), had left over ₦600 billion in the state treasury and questioned why the governor had not utilized the funds to fix the education sector.
Governor Fubara responded earlier this week, pledging that education would take priority in the 2026 budget.
He said his government would base new teacher employment on actual state needs and not political influence.
At a meeting with the state’s Traditional Rulers Council on Monday, Fubara maintained that the decay in schools predated his administration.
“We will give attention to education. That’s a priority,” he said, explaining that the political turmoil had slowed implementation of his development plans.
On Tuesday, the governor approved the formal employment of 1,000 teachers who had completed the recruitment process since 2023 but were left without appointment letters.
However, Fubara did not respond to allegations that his administration had ignored the ₦600 billion reportedly inherited from the previous government.
With the assembly’s criticism growing and crucial ministries still without leadership, observers say the fragile peace accord between the governor and lawmakers may be slipping away, rekindling fears of another political showdown in the oil‑rich state.