The Rivers State House of Assembly on Monday rejected four of the nine commissioner nominees submitted by Gov. Siminalayi Fubara for screening and confirmation.
Lawmakers, however, cleared five nominees as commissioners-designate after a screening exercise that lasted more than two hours.
Speaker Martin Amaewhule, who presided over the plenary, said the four nominees were rejected due to poor performance during the screening and controversies surrounding their documentation, including 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.
“And four of them, the House has chosen to take a deep breath, given their poor performance and controversies surrounding their documents.”
The speaker said the Assembly concluded that the rejected nominees failed to convince lawmakers that they were prepared to serve in the state executive council.
Amaewhule said the resolution of the House would be forwarded to the governor for further action, adding that the confirmed nominees should be sworn in as soon as possible.
Those whose nominations were rejected are Prof. Datonye Alasia, Tamuno Williams, Otonye Amachree and Charity Deemua.
The nominees confirmed by the Assembly are Tonye Belgam, Prof. Temple Nwafor, Dr. Peters Nwagor, Lekue Kenneth and Amarigha Edward-Hart.
During the screening, Deemua faced questions over inconsistencies in her tax clearance documents.
Responding to questions from lawmaker Burabari Loolo, Deemua said she had not updated her tax payments since Dec. 31, 2018, explaining that she was a politician without formal employment.
Amaewhule questioned the explanation, asking whether politicians were exempt from paying taxes and whether she had earned any income during the period.
Deemua later clarified that she had served as a commissioner in the Rivers State House of Assembly Service Commission and briefly as a caretaker committee member of a local government in 2025.
When asked whether she received salary for the caretaker role, she acknowledged that she was paid but argued that the payment did not constitute income.
The speaker accused her of misleading the Assembly before she apologized.
In another instance during the screening, the House Leader, Major Jack, asked nominee Williams to recite the second stanza of the Nigerian National Anthem, Williams recited only the first stanza.
Lawmakers also raised concerns over petitions against nominee Amachree.
The chairman of the House Committee on Information, Complaints and Petitions, Enemi George, told the chamber that more than 10 petitions had been filed against Amachree and that another petition was received electronically during the screening.
Following the exercise, Jack moved a motion for the nominees to take leave of the chamber, which was seconded by Deputy Majority Leader Linda Stewart .
The House later adjourned plenary until March 17.
In a statement issued after the session, the speaker’s media aide, Martin Wachukwu, confirmed the screening and approval of five nominees as commissioners and members of the Rivers State Executive Council.
The statement said the screening process involved reviewing the nominees’ academic qualifications, work history, tax compliance and petitions filed against some of them.
The Assembly said the legislative scrutiny was aimed at ensuring the state appoints qualified individuals to help deliver governance and public services.
