EXPLAINER: How a governor can be impeached in Nigeria

The Rivers state house of assembly has commenced an impeachment move against Siminalayi Fubara, governor of the state, and Ngozi Odu, his deputy, after accusing them of gross misconduct.

The lawmakers accused Fubara of reckless and unconstitutional expenditure of public funds, among other allegations.

In a notice dated March 14 and signed by 26 assembly members, Fubara was accused of failure to present the 2024 Appropriation Bill to the assembly. He was also alleged to have authorised withdrawals from the state’s consolidated revenue fund without a duly enacted appropriation law.

On March 17, Martin Amaewhule, speaker to the Rivers house of assembly, forwarded the notice to Fubara, citing section 188 of the constitution, which outlines the process for impeaching a governor, and requested his response to the allegations within 14 days.

Rivers state has been bogged down in a political crisis stemming from the power struggle between Fubara and Nyesom Wike, his predecessor and minister of the federal capital territory (FCT).

The rift led to the polarisation of the Rivers assembly.

The crisis took a new twist on February 28 when the supreme court upheld a federal high court ruling barring the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the accountant-general of the federation from releasing Rivers state’s statutory monthly allocations.

The court also nullified the local government elections conducted in the state on October 5, 2024.

In response, Fubara promised to comply with the apex court’s ruling in an attempt to address the state’s political impasse.

He invited the lawmakers to a meeting, but the legislators shunned the proposed parley, accusing Fubara of not following due process.

Days later, the governor wrote again to the assembly, requesting a new date to present the 2025 appropriation bill. About 24 hours after the governor issued the letter, the assembly adjourned plenary indefinitely.

At the peak of the crisis in 2023, an attempt to impeach the governor resulted in the demolition of the Rivers house of assembly.

PROCESS FOR IMPEACHING A GOVERNOR

According to section 188, the process for the impeachment of a governor begins when there is a notice of any allegation in writing signed by not less than one-third of the members of the house of assembly, stating that the holder of the office is guilty of “gross misconduct” in the performance of the functions of his office. The indictment must be clear, specific, and detailed, leaving no room for ambiguity.

The constitution defines gross misconduct as a “grave violation or breach of the provisions of this constitution or a misconduct of such nature as amounts in the opinion in the house of assembly to gross misconduct”.

Following that, the speaker of the house shall, within seven days of the receipt of the notice, cause a copy to be served on the governor. The presiding officer must also ensure that any response from the governor to the allegation is delivered to each member of the assembly.

In subsection 4, within 14 days of presenting the notice to the speaker — regardless of whether the governor responds to the allegation — the house of assembly shall, by motion and without debate, decide whether the allegation should be investigated.

Subsection 4 states that if the motion is passed for the allegation to be investigated, it must be supported by the votes of not less than a two-thirds majority of all the members.

According to subsection 5, within seven days of the passing the motion, the chief judge of the state shall, at the request of the speaker, appoint a panel of seven persons (not being members of any public service, legislative house or political party) to investigate the allegation against the governor.

During the hearing, the governor can appear before the panel to defend himself or be represented by a legal practitioner. Subsection 7 mandates the panel to report its findings to the assembly within three months.

Subsection 8 stipulates that if the panel report states that the allegation has not been proved, no further proceedings should be taken in respect of the impeachment.

According to section 9, where the panel reports that the allegation against the governor has been proved, then within 14 days of the receipt of the report, the assembly shall consider the report, and if by a resolution of the house supported by not less than two-thirds majority of all its members, the report of the panel is adopted, then the governor stands removed from office effective immediately.

GOVERNORS IMPEACHED IN THE PAST

Since 1999, when Nigeria returned to democracy, some governors have been impeached by their respective state houses of assembly.

DIEPREYE ALAMIEYESEIGHA (BAYELSA, 2005)

Diepreye Alamieyeseigha was governor of oil-rich Bayelsa state from 1999 to 2005. He was impeached on December 9, 2005, on allegations of corruption, including theft of public funds and abuse of office. His impeachment was not overturned by the courts.

 RASHIDI LADOJA (OYO, 2006)

Rashidi Ladoja was impeached on January 12, 2006. In November 2006, an appeal court declared the impeachment illegal. The supreme court upheld the ruling.

PETER OBI (ANAMBRA, 2006)

Peter Obi was impeached on November 2, 2006. He challenged his impeachment, and the court reinstated him.

JOSHUA DARIYE (PLATEAU, 2006)

Joshua Dariye was impeached on November 13, 2006. He appealed his removal, and on March 10, 2007, the court of appeal ordered his reinstatement. The supreme court affirmed the judgement.

MURTALA NYAKO (ADAMAWA, 2014)

Murtala Nyako was impeached on July 15, 2014, on allegations of gross misconduct. However, the court of appeal later declared the impeachment null and void. The supreme court upheld this decision, but Nyako was not reinstated as his tenure had already ended.