Rivers Assembly Begins Screening of Nine Fubara Commissioner-nominees

The Rivers State House of Assembly has confirmed receipt of the list of commissioner-nominees from Governor Siminalayi Fubara and invited nine of the nominees for screening and confirmation.

The submission of the list by the governor comes about three weeks after he sacked eight commissioners who were not affected by the Supreme Court judgment recognising Martin Amaewhule as the authentic Speaker of the Assembly.

Fubara also dismissed all his special advisers.

The list of the nine commissioners is believed to be the first batch, with more names expected in the cabinet.

The invitation of the nine commissioner-nominees was contained in a government special announcement dated March 3, signed by the Clerk of the House, Dr Emeka Amadi.

The statement read: “The Rivers State House of Assembly hereby invites nominees for appointment as commissioners and members of the Rivers State Executive Council to submit forty (40) sets of their Curriculum vitae, photocopies of credentials and evidence of compliance with tax obligations.

“The nominees are: Professor Datonye Alasia, Mr Tonye Bellgam, Professor Temple Nwofor, Dr Peters Nwagor, Mrs Charity Deemua, Tamuno Williams, Mr Lekue Kenneth, Otonye Amachree and Amairigha Edward Hart.

“All documents should be forwarded to the office of the Clerk of the House at the Rivers State House of Assembly Quarters.”

The Assembly has, however, not specified when the nine nominees will be screened.

Efforts to reach the Chairman, House Committee on Information and Complaints, Enemi George, on the date for the screening were unsuccessful, as calls, texts, and WhatsApp messages went unanswered as of Tuesday evening.

Our correspondent reports that none of the sacked commissioners was included in the latest list.

Governor Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, are believed to have resolved their differences after President Bola Tinubu intervened for the third time.

Tinubu also halted impeachment proceedings against the governor and his deputy, Prof Ngozi Odu, initiated by 27 lawmakers loyal to the FCT Minister.

The Speaker, Amaewhule, had earlier announced that the House had withdrawn the impeachment proceedings in compliance with the President’s directive.