JUST IN: Fubara directs outgoing Rivers council chairpersons to vacate seats immediately

Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State has directed the administrative heads of local governments to take charge of the councils and to await further directives following the expiration of the tenure of the elected council chairpersons and councillors on Monday.

“Heads of local governments administration are hereby directed to immediately take charge of the councils and await further directives,” the governor said in a broadcast on Tuesday morning.

Mr Fubara congratulated the outgoing chairpersons on completing their tenure and wished them well in their future endeavours.

Tension has been building in the oil-rich state as youths in some local government areas, including Degema and Asari-Toru, took over the council headquarters, insisting that the council chairpersons vacate office as their tenure expired on Monday.

At Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor LGAs, there was a massive presence of security officials to prevent a breakdown of law and order, Punch newspaper reported.

According to the newspaper, only two local government council chairpersons in the state – Enyiada Cooley-Gam, the chairperson of Opobo Nkoro local government, where Governor Fubara hails from, and Anengi Barasua of Bonny local government – held Thanksgiving services ahead of their handing over.

The remaining 21 chairpersons, who insist on holding on to office, are relying on an amendment to the local government law by lawmakers opposed to the governor. The amended law granted the council officials a six-month extension if Governor Fubara failed to conduct a local government election.

The issue

The three-year tenure of elected local government officials in the state ended on Monday. They were sworn into office three years ago under the administration of the immediate past Governor Nyesom Wike, now the minister of FCT.

Mr Wike, who helped bring Governor Fubara to office, later fell out with the governor, and both have continued a rift that has threatened the state’s peace.

The rift escalated as some state lawmakers loyal to Mr Wike initiated an impeachment against Governor Fubara, which led to the burning of a section of the state House of Assembly complex and its subsequent demolition by the state government.

The crisis prompted an intervention by President Bola Tinubu, who brokered a peace deal between Messrs Wike and Fubara after the seats of the 27 pro-Wike lawmakers were declared vacant following their defection from the PDP to the APC.

Following the peace deal, the pro-Wike lawmakers returned to the state assembly and conducted legislative business, but it was long before the controversial deal collapsed. The lawmakers took advantage of their overwhelming majority and passed several bills into law by overriding Governor Fubara’s veto.

A key rift between Messrs Wike and Fubara is the control of the political structure in the state, particularly grassroots governance.

In an apparent move to ensure that the FCT minister retains control of the grassroots political structure, the lawmakers amended the local government administration law, stripped Governor Fubara of the power to appoint a caretaker committee, and extended the tenure of local government chairpersons by six months in the event that the state government failed to conduct elections.

Angered by the consistent overriding of his veto by the pro-Wike lawmakers, Mr Fubara stated in May that the lawmakers do not exist based on their defection to another party.

Days after the declaration, Victor Oko-Jumbo emerged as the speaker of a three-person assembly backed by Governor Fubara.

Mr Oko-Jumbo, after his emergence, secured an order from a State High Court restraining the pro-Wike lawmakers from parading themselves as members of the state assembly.

The court also set aside all legislative actions taken by the pro-Wike lawmakers and barred Governor Fubara from implementing them.

Dissatisfied by the court’s decision, the pro-Wike lawmakers led by Martin Amaewhule asked the Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt to vacate the high court’s order, but the appellate court declined and ordered parties to maintain the “present status quo” pending the determination of the appeal.

Despite the appellate court’s decision, the chairperson of Ikwerre Local Government Area, Samuel Nwanosike, told PREMIUM TIMES on Saturday that the court had validated all the resolutions taken by the Amaewhule-led assembly including the extension of tenure for elected council officials in the state.

Also, the Wike-backed lawmakers held a press briefing shortly after the appellate court’s rulings on Friday, warning that the assembly (referring to the 25 pro-Wike lawmakers) would not accept a list of caretaker committee members.

At a recent function in the state, Governor Fubara reminded the council chairpersons that their days in office are numbered.

Tuesday’s directive by the state governor is expected to cause more confusion in a state that is on the brink of violence.