A former Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communication, Austin Tam-George, has said attempts to impeach Governor Siminalayi Fubara would be difficult to sustain due to the governor’s performance record and the absence of concrete allegations against him.
Tam-George spoke on Thursday during an appearance on Prime Time on Arise Television, where he argued that the impeachment process was designed to scuttle Fubara’s chances of securing a second term in office.
He maintained that the governor had continued to prioritise the welfare of Rivers people, with visible interventions in rural development, housing, education and healthcare, making it difficult for his opponents to justify his removal.
The former commissioner called on the All Progressives Congress to intervene in the matter, insisting that the party should not allow what he described as the humiliation of a sitting governor.
“All I think he needs to do is to do exactly what he’s been doing from the beginning, which is to place the people at the centre of gravity of his administration, prioritise the needs of the people so that they can see the direct impact of government action in their lives,” Tam-George said.
“That’s exactly what he’s doing in terms of rural development, housing sector transformation, education and health. So if he continues, if he persists in placing the people’s needs at the centre of focus of his administration, there is no way they are going to be able to justify this kind of shenanigans.”
He dismissed the articles of impeachment as lacking specificity, noting that no clear infraction had been cited against the governor or his deputy.
“If you look very carefully at the so-called articles of impeachment, you will see that there is no specificity in terms of any infraction by the governor or his deputy. What they are trying to do is to make sure they scuttle the administration so that the governor doesn’t get to the point where he will be seeking a second term,” he stated.
Tam-George alleged that Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, had recently admitted that Fubara securing a second term would amount to his own political burial.
“Just two days ago, Nyesom Wike was at one of the local governments, and he made it clear in a moment of epiphany that if Governor Fubara were to get a second term in office, it will amount to his own political burial,” he said.
“So all of these things that we are seeing, the so-called impeachment proceedings they’ve initiated, it’s actually an effort to try to scuttle the prospects of the governor coming for a second term, and I don’t see how they will succeed.”
He advised Fubara to maintain focus on the people, run a transparent administration and allow the truth to prevail.
Tam-George also urged the APC to step in, arguing that the party could not afford to allow a governor with one of the best performance records in the country to be humiliated by members of the state assembly.