The Rivers State House of Assembly on Monday confirmed five of nine commissioner-nominees forwarded by Governor Siminalayi Fubara and rejected four after a screening exercise that lasted more than two hours.
Speaker Martin Amaewhule, who presided over the plenary, said the rejected nominees failed to satisfy the House during questioning and were dogged by controversies surrounding their documents and petitions.
“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 in his summation. “Four of them the House has chosen to take a deep breath given their poor performance and controversies surrounding either their documents… We feel that they are not square pegs in square holes for the offices that they intend to occupy.”
The four nominees rejected are Prof. Datonye Alasia, Barr. Tamuno Williams, Otonye Amachree and Charity Deemua. Those cleared for confirmation are Tonye Belgam, Prof. Temple Nwafor, Dr. Peters Nwagor, Lekue Kenneth and Amarigha Edward-Hart.
Amaewhule said he would forward the assembly’s resolution to the governor and request that the five confirmed nominees be sworn in as soon as possible. The House adjourned until Tuesday, March 17, 2026.
