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The Rivers State House of Assembly has rejected four out of the nine commissioner-nominees submitted by Governor Siminalayi Fubara for screening and confirmation, citing poor performance during the screening exercise and controversies surrounding their nominations.
During plenary on Monday, presided over by Speaker Martin Amaewhule, lawmakers subjected the nominees to a screening process that lasted more than two hours. At the end of the exercise, the House approved five nominees as commissioners-designate while declining to confirm the remaining four.
Amaewhule explained that the decision followed deliberations by lawmakers who raised concerns during the screening, including issues linked to petitions and the candidates’ overall preparedness for the responsibilities of office.
“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 while delivering his closing remarks during the session.
He added that the four nominees who were not cleared failed to convince the Assembly of their readiness to serve in the Rivers State Executive Council.
“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,” he said.
Amaewhule further said that the House believed the rejected nominees were not suitable for the positions they were nominated to occupy.
“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,” he added.
Following the decision, the Speaker said the Assembly would formally communicate its resolution to the governor.
Those rejected by the Assembly include Prof. Datonye Alasia, Barrister Tamuno Williams, Otonye Amachree and Charity Deemua. The nominees cleared by the lawmakers are Tonye Belgam, Prof. Temple Nwafor, Dr Peters Nwagor, Lekue Kenneth and Amarigha Edward-Hart.
After concluding the screening and confirmation process, the House adjourned plenary to Tuesday, March 17, 2026.
