The Rivers State House of Assembly, led by Speaker Martins Amaewhule, has demanded the immediate removal of all 19 commissioners and political appointees who were not screened by the Assembly. The Speaker issued a letter to the State Governor on Wednesday, calling for the dismissal of these officials and the submission of a fresh list of nominees for proper screening and confirmation.
The letter, signed by Amaewhule, said that the appointments violated constitutional provisions.
It stated, “Your attention is once again drawn to the 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 highlighted the case of Dagogo Iboroma, whose appointment as Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice was not forwarded for screening.
The Speaker argued that this contravened Sections 192(2), 192(5), and 195(1) of the 1999 Constitution. The Assembly has given the Governor 48 hours to submit a new list of nominees for the State Executive Council and other vacant offices.
In response, the Commissioner for Environment, Sydney Tambari, dismissed the Assembly’s actions as baseless and politically motivated.
He accused the 27 lawmakers of overstepping their bounds and exacerbating the political tension in the state.
Tambari said that all commissioners were properly screened by the former Speaker of the House, Edison Ehie, who is now the Chief of Staff at the Government House.
Tambari, a former publicity secretary of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Rivers State, stated: “I was screened by Edison Ehie, who was duly recognized by a competent court as the authentic Speaker of the State House of Assembly. At the time, this group of lawmakers had already defected from the PDP, and their actions lacked legitimacy.”
