• PFN decries political turmoil, warns against impeachment plot

A Civil Society Organisation (CSO), the Miideekor Environmental Development Initiative (MEDI), has threatened to drag 26 members of the Rivers State House of Assembly to court over the alleged receipt of N350 million each for constituency projects during the period of emergency rule in the state.
 
The funds were reportedly disbursed under the former Sole Administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas (rtd). Team lead of the organisation and Niger Delta activist, Celestine Akpobari, said if the allegations are confirmed, the action would amount to a criminal offence and financial impropriety.

He argued that lawmakers are not meant to directly receive funds for constituency projects, describing such a practice as a violation of due process.
 
The allegation was earlier raised by Mr Darlington Orji, the Special Adviser to Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, who claimed that the lawmakers received the funds despite public denials by some Assembly members. Orji made the claim while appearing on ARISE Television’s breakfast programme, the Morning Show, where he spoke on the state’s budgetary process and the ongoing executive-legislative tensions.
 
The Guardian gathered that payments of N350 million each, totalling N10.5 billion, were approved and released on September 12, 2025, for constituency projects across the 26 constituencies represented in the Assembly.
 
However, checks by The Guardian revealed that none of the claimed listed projects has been executed to date. Further findings indicate that several of the companies allegedly nominated by the lawmakers to handle the projects are either inactive, dormant or suspected to be individual entities.
  
Akpobari explained that under established procedures, lawmakers are expected to submit constituency project proposals to the relevant ministries, particularly the Ministry of Works, which then oversees funding, procurement and execution. “Lawmakers are not contractors. They should not receive project funds directly,” he said.
 
He called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to immediately investigate the matter without waiting for a formal petition.

MEANWHILE, the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Rivers State Chapter, has voiced strong discontent over the escalating political instability in the state, describing it as a setback to development and progress.
 
Addressing Newsmen in Port Harcourt, the chapter’s Chairman, Rev. Minaibi Dagogo-Jack, condemned the ongoing power plays, urging key actors to prioritise peace and stability.
 
He specifically cautioned politicians boasting of controlling the state’s votes, noting that their influence in the last election was minimal compared to the total voter base.

“It is important that we come to condemn this; enough is enough. Let’s stop this noise in Rivers State,” Rev. Dagogo-Jack emphasised.  He highlighted the disparity in voter turnout, noting that those claiming dominance delivered only slightly more than 200,000 votes to a presidential candidate, while the state boasts over 3.5 million registered voters.

Addressing the impeachment proceedings against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Prof. Ngozi Odu, the Rivers State PFN leader called for restraint among the parties involved. He questioned the grounds for impeachment, suggesting hidden motives.