On Wednesday, the resignation of Amadi, a staunch supporter of former Governor Nyesom Wike, was confirmed by Joseph Johnson, the Commissioner for Information and Communications.
Fubara, in due course, will reveal the successor to Amadi, as stated by Johnson.
“The former Chief of Staff, Hon Chidi Amadi, has resigned. The governor will announce another Chief of Staff at the appropriate time.
“It is the prerogative of the governor to appoint when he wants it. He will tell us and we will announce it and you will also get the release to that effect,” he said.
Attempts to contact Amadi proved futile as he neither answered numerous calls made to his mobile nor responded to WhatsApp and text messages sent on Wednesday night by our correspondent.
Amadi, a kinsman of Wike from Obio/Akpor Local Government Area in Rivers State, becomes the 10th loyalist of Wike to leave Fubara’s administration since the commencement of the political discord between Fubara and his estranged political mentor, Wike. Amadi’s resignation follows calls for Fubara to appoint Edison Ehie, a former factional Speaker of the state House of Assembly, as Chief of Staff.
On January 3, the Ijaw Youth Council, Worldwide, urged Fubara to appoint Ehie as Chief of Staff in recognition of his support for the government during a plot by 27 lawmakers loyal to ex-governor Nyesom Wike to impeach Fubara.
The attempt to impeach Fubara resulted in the factionalization of the Rivers State House of Assembly, with Ehie leading four members and Martin Amaewhule leading 26 pro-Wike lawmakers. In December, Fubara bypassed the 27 pro-Wike lawmakers and presented the 2024 budget to the five-member Ehie faction, which passed the budget on December 13.
However, following President Bola Tinubu’s intervention, Fubara was directed, as part of an eight-point resolution reached at Aso Rock in Abuja, to recognize the 27 pro-Wike lawmakers and return the budget to them for approval.
Weeks after the Abuja meeting, Ehie resigned from the House of Assembly, informing the Independent National Electoral Commission that he was no longer a lawmaker in Edo. Although Ehie did not specify the reason for his resignation, Fubara later remarked that Ehie’s departure was a calculated move to foster peace and resolve the ongoing political crisis in the state.
During its plenary on Tuesday at the Assembly quarters along Aba Road, Port Harcourt, the Amaewhule-led Assembly called on Fubara to present the 2024 budget for reapproval, asserting that the state was operating without a budget. However, as of Wednesday, Fubara had not commented on the lawmakers’ request, and no state government official had responded to the statement, potentially indicating another round of crisis in the state.
