The Rivers State House of Assembly has confirmed five out of nine commissioner nominees presented by Governor Siminalayi Fubara, dropping four others after a rigorous screening process.
During a plenary session held on Monday at the House, Mr. Tonye Bellgam, Prof. Temple Nwofor, Dr. Peters Nwagor, Mr. Lekue Kenneth, and Sir Amairigha Edward Hart were approved. Speaker Martin Amaewhule confirmed that the names of the successful candidates would be transmitted to the Governor for formal appointment into the State Executive Council.
The four other nominees who failed to secure the Assembly’s approval were Prof. Datonye Alasia, Mrs. Charity Deemua, Mr. Tamuno Williams, and Barr. Otonye TKD Amachree.
The lawmakers cited variety of reasons for the rejections, which includes poor performance during the oral interview, discrepancies in documentation, and petitions from the public.
Specifically, Prof. Alasia was rejected on the grounds of poor performance, while Mrs. Deemua failed to present her tax clearance documents. Mr. Williams was accused of previously making misleading statements regarding the legislature’s activities. In the case of Barr. Amachree, the House noted that over 11 petitions had been received from his home communities in the Kalabari Kingdom regarding his involvement in local disputes.
However, Speaker Amaewhule reiterated that the screening process was intended to ensure that only individuals with high standards of integrity and competence occupy seats in the executive cabinet.
The new nominations follow the total dissolution of the state cabinet by Governor Fubara on February 12, 2026. That decision came in the wake of a peace meeting in Abuja aimed at resolving the political tension between the Governor and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
Following the confirmation, the Assembly adjourned its proceedings until March 17, 2026.
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