Pro-Wike factions in Rivers State, primarily consisting of former local council chairs and councilors, along with defecting politicians and a few federal lawmakers, are reportedly planning to stage rallies in Port Harcourt starting on Monday.
According to Punch, The pro-Sim Fubara factions, which primarily consisted of the recently appointed caretaker chairman of the local council, issued dire warnings and urged the security services to put an end to the demonstrations.
There is concern that the protests could spark altercations that could lead to a collapse in law and order and support the All Progressives Congress (APC), which is backed by Governor Wike, in demanding a “State of Emergency” for the unstable state.
The Rivers State Chapter of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) has now informed the public, the Rivers State Government, and law enforcement agencies about the repercussions of the planned protest by the former chairmen of local governments, as well as defecting members of the state’s National Assembly and House of Assembly.
On Sunday, June 23, 2024, at a news conference in Port Harcourt, Ichemati Ezebunwo, the head of ALGON, called the demonstration a “sinister plot.” He claimed it would destabilize governance and provide a pretext to implement their plan to declare a state of emergency in the state by causing anarchy and turmoil.
Ezebunwo said, “We are drawing the attention of the general public to the planned protest by the immediate past local government chairmen, former House of Assembly members, and National Assembly members loyal to the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Chief Nyesom Wike, against the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) manning the 23 local government councils across the state.
“The planned protest is not in the interest of the local governments and the state in its entirety. Rather, it is a calculated attempt by enemies of our dear state to paint the people of the state in bad light, unleash mayhem while at it, and use it to further buttress their inordinate call for the declaration of a state of emergency in our dear state”.
He explained, “We emphatically state that we, members of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, Rivers State Chapter, and our people are in support of the police decision to take control and protect all local government council secretariats until further directive on the matter.”
According to Ezebunwo, no one has attempted to forcibly take control of or gain access to any local government secretariats in accordance with the governor’s directive since the caretaker committee chairmen assumed their duties. This is because the police have not decided to leave or remove the barriers that have been put in place to protect government assets….……See More
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