Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara has said that the state’s 23 local government councils will operate from alternative secretariats following the police closure of the councils on Tuesday.
The governor, speaking after swearing in the 23 local government caretaker committee chairmen on Wednesday in Port Harcourt, the state capital, stated that they may operate from anywhere.
Fubara remarked this when the police blocked the newly appointed caretaker chairman from entering their offices at all 23 LG headquarters.
The secretariats were fortified with police patrol vehicles manned by armed officers.
The police command in the state had on Tuesday announced that it had taken over all the LG council headquarters to forestall further bloodshed and to prevent a breakdown of law and order.
On Tuesday, a police officer and a member of a local security group were slain following a battle between supporters of the governor and his predecessor, Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike, at Eberi-Omuma in the state’s Omuma Local Government Area.
Fubara and his predecessor had been feuding since late last year.
The conflict resulted in the bombing of the state House of Assembly last year, which factionalized the House while the governor survived an impeachment attempt by Martin Amaewhule, who led 27 MPs loyal to the FCT minister.
The issue intensified on Tuesday, when youths loyal to the governor deposed some Wike-supporting chairmen after their terms expired.
The 23 chairmen’s three-year terms expired on Monday, but they promised to continue in office, citing the Local Government Amendment Law 2024 passed by the Martin Amaewhule-led House of Assembly.
The statute passed by the 27 parliamentarians loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital, Wike, allows them to continue in office for six months due to Fubara’s failure to organise local government elections.
On Wednesday, the governor swore in the newly chosen caretaker committee chairmen in the Government House, charging them with avoiding violence, maintaining peace, and adhering to the constitution.
Fubara also asked the Auditor-General of Local Governments to begin an immediate audit of the accounts of the 23 councils, stressing that the new appointments might work from wherever.
He stated that the chairman’s swearing-in would ensure the smooth operation of local governments when the tenures of the state’s elected chairmen and councillors ended.
He urged them against any type of confrontation, saying that it was not in his nature or style, and instructed them to follow the law when they took complete control of the local government councils.
He said, “Whatever happened yesterday (Tuesday), I know and the world knows that it is not from you people. Some people caused it. So, let us not allow them to continue to make our state look bad in the community of states.
“So, when you go back, if there is any situation, you should be law-abiding. I don’t want any confrontation. You can operate from anywhere for now. But the most important thing is that you have the control of the local governments today.”
