Rivers State witnessed mayhem on Tuesday, 18 June 2024 as some local government secretariats got embroiled in a tug-of-war between political factions.
A policeman and a vigilante squad member were confirmed dead from the clash which followed the face-off between two warring political groups within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over the tenure of elected officials of 23 local governments.
Relying on a Court of Appeal order, which specifies the sustenance of the status quo until the hearing of suits on the matter slated for tomorrow, council chairmen and executives vowed to stay on for another six months according to the law passed by Martins Amawule-led House of Assembly.
Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s broadcast yesterday announced the exit of the chairmen and their replacement with heads of administration. Charged youths, seemingly loyal to Governor Fubara, hit the streets on yesterday invading the secretariats to force the chairpersons out of office amidst reports that the local officials had vowed to sit tight despite the state government announcing the end of their tenure and the appointment of interim administrators.
After an all-day sparring between supporters of the two groups, the police last night announced that they had taken control of 23 local government secretariats.
The police confirmed that two people were killed in Omuma LGA during a clash. The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Grace Iringe-Koko, who confirmed the killings, said an investigation was ongoing to apprehend the culprits and bring them to justice.
Although the police did not indicate, however, the Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, controls one of the factions responsible for the ruckus while his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, now the FCT minister, controls the other. The two currently bitter allies have been in a political tussle since 2023 over whose control of government is stronger. A stance which continues to adversely impact and hamper the role of the state legislature and disrupt governance in state.
And in this instance, the defiant council chairpersons refusing to vacate their tenure and at the centre of this present breakout of violence in the state are deemed loyalists of Wike — again the claims by these chairpersons has been invalidated by the ruling of two courts, and recently the Court of Appeal’s.
