The South-South caucus of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has alleged that moves by the Rivers State House of Assembly to initiate impeachment proceedings against Governor Siminalayi Fubara are connected to disagreements over the state’s 2026 budget proposal.

Speaking in Port Harcourt on Friday, the group said the impeachment threat followed the governor’s refusal to approve certain budgetary items which it described as questionable. The claim was made in response to assertions by lawmakers that the governor had violated a peace agreement previously brokered by President Bola Tinubu to address the political crisis in the state.

Addressing journalists, the coordinator of the APC South-South Group, Comrade Freedom Amadi, argued that the dispute should not be framed as a breakdown of the presidential peace accord. According to him, the conflict arose from what he described as resistance by the governor to pressure over budgetary provisions.

The Rivers State House of Assembly, however, has maintained that its actions are based on constitutional responsibilities and has accused the governor of acting in bad faith. Some lawmakers have also stated that external interventions cannot prevent the legislature from carrying out its duties.

Reacting to those remarks, the APC South-South Group warned that public statements suggesting that presidential mediation could be disregarded risk deepening political instability. The group said the intervention by Bola Ahmed Tinubu was aimed at restoring calm and enabling governance, rather than escalating confrontation between arms of government.

Amadi said the APC group believes the agreement reached under the President’s mediation was intended to promote cooperation and constitutional order. He argued that any attempt to interpret the agreement as justification for impeachment would undermine its purpose.

The APC South-South also linked the ongoing tension to the broader political rivalry in Rivers State, pointing to the influence of former governor and current Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike. The group claimed that lawmakers backing the impeachment process were politically aligned with Wike, although it provided no independent evidence for the assertion.

It further questioned the continued silence of the minister on the matter, suggesting that it could be interpreted as inconsistent with the spirit of national unity that informed his appointment into the federal cabinet.

The group warned that the use of impeachment as a political tool could weaken public confidence in democratic institutions and erode the credibility of the legislature. It called on the Rivers State House of Assembly to suspend impeachment proceedings and urged the National Assembly to monitor developments in the state.

At the time of filing this report, the Rivers State Government and the House of Assembly had not issued fresh responses to the APC South-South’s latest statements.