The Rivers State House of Assembly on Monday confirmed five commissioner-nominees submitted by Governor Siminalayi Fubara, while rejecting four others following a screening exercise that lasted more than two hours.
Presiding over the plenary, Speaker Martin Amaewhule announced the decision after lawmakers deliberated on the nominations and considered motions either supporting or opposing the candidates.
According to the Speaker, the House declined to confirm four of the nine nominees due to what he described as poor performance during the screening process and concerns raised in petitions against them.
“Distinguished colleagues, we have nine nominees forwarded to this Assembly by the governor. At the end of the screening exercise the House has confirmed five of them,” Amaewhule said.
“And four of them the House has chosen to take a deep breath given their poor performance and controversies surrounding either their documents and they have not been able to show this august assembly that they are indeed prepared to serve Rivers State or that they are able.
“And we feel that they are not square pegs in square holes for the offices that they intend to occupy in the Rivers State Executive Council.
“On that note, distinguished colleagues, I thank you for your contributions. With your leave and in line with our rules, I will forward the resolution of this august assembly to the governor so that he can take necessary steps for the interest of Rivers State.”
After putting the question before the House on forwarding the decision to the governor, the Speaker added: “On that note, I’m going to forward a letter to the governor and ask him to swear in five of the nominees as soon as possible.”
Those rejected by the Assembly include Datonye Alasia, Tamuno Williams, Otonye Amachree, and Charity Deemua.
Meanwhile, the nominees cleared by the lawmakers are Tonye Belgam, Temple Nwafor, Peters Nwagor, Lekue Kenneth, and Amarigha Edward-Hart.
Following the announcement, the House adjourned plenary to March 17, 2026.
