POLITICS
ALDRAP Launches Recall Process Against 26 Rivers Lawmakers, Targets Speaker Amaewhule Over Fubara Impeachment Move
Legislative lawyers operating under the umbrella of the Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners (ALDRAP) have commenced formal steps to recall 26 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, including the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Martin Amaewhule, following the impeachment proceedings initiated against Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
The development comes amid heightened political tension in Rivers State after reports emerged that the lawmakers, on Thursday, began impeachment proceedings against Governor Fubara, accusing him of gross misconduct, including allegations of financial misappropriation.
ALDRAP confirmed the commencement of the recall process in an official letter addressed to the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), formally notifying the electoral body of its intention to activate constitutional recall mechanisms against the legislators involved.
In the letter, the association demanded certified true copies (CTCs) of the voters’ registers for all state constituencies in Rivers State, explaining that access to the documents is a critical legal requirement for initiating the recall process.
According to ALDRAP, several of its members are bona fide constituents of the affected lawmakers, thereby granting the association the constitutional and legal standing to commence recall actions against their representatives.
The association further placed INEC on notice, warning that it would seek judicial intervention should the Commission fail or refuse to release the requested certified true copies of the voters’ registers.
Parts of the letter dated January 8, 2026, and signed by ALDRAP Secretary, Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja, SCN, read:
“Notice of commencement of recall of Rt. Hon. Martin Amaewhule, Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly and 25 other legislators of the House of Assembly who signed the impeachment notice dated 8th January 2026 and request for certified true copies (CTCs) of the voter register of all the state constituencies of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
“Contrary to the judgment of February 2025 of the Supreme Court of Nigeria that enjoined the members of the Rivers State House of Assembly to work in peaceful harmony with the Governor of Rivers State by exploring and exhausting amicable methods to resolve conflicts, the members of the Rivers State Houseof Assembly have once again initiated belligerent methods.
“Ironically, both the Governor of Rivers State and the said members of the Rivers State House of Assembly are members of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and ought to have explored and exhausted internal dispute resolution mechanisms.
“In light of the foregoing, as a public interest organisation of lawyers majority of whom are constituents of all state constituencies of the Rivers State House of Assembly, we hereby demand the aforementioned certified true copies (CTC) and put your Commission on notice.”
Beyond the recall move, ALDRAP also faulted the impeachment notice itself, describing it as legally defective and invalid.
In a further reaction, the association declared that the impeachment notice against Governor Fubara is “dead on arrival,” citing what it described as fundamental legal flaws in the document.
“The letter of notice of impeachment against Governor Fubara is dead on arrival for two legal reasons: (1) Fundamental flaw of addressing Governor Fubara as ‘madam’ and (2) the constituents of Rivers State did not endorse or authorize the lawmakers of Rivers State House of Assembly to commence impeachment against Governor Fubara,” ALDRAP said.
The unfolding developments signal a fresh escalation in the Rivers State political crisis, as legal, legislative, and electoral processes now intersect, with potential far-reaching implications for the composition of the State House of Assembly and the stability of governance in the state.