Rivers local council chairperson appoints 100 special assistants

A local council chairperson in Rivers State, south-south Nigeria, has given an appointment to 100 people as his special assistants.

Chijioke Ihunwo is the chairperson of a caretaker committee which runs the affairs of the Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers.

“As the Caretaker Chairman of Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, I have approved the appointment of one hundred Special Assistants,” Mr Ihunwo stated on Wednesday in a post on X.

He listed the names of the 100 people which he claimed are names of the appointees.

“While congratulating the appointees, I charged them to work effectively and key into my developmental agenda, and in line with the vision of Governor Siminalayi Fubara,” Mr Ihunwo said on the microblogging site.

‘I guess this is a joke’

Many people who reacted on X to Mr Ihunwo’s post expressed shock and disappointment over the appointment of such numerous officials.

“I guess this is a joke taken too far?” said an X user, Ben Samuel (@flourish007).

“Otherwise, I would like you to define their job responsibilities or if they would be working (for) free.

“Who are these people, for God’s sake?” he added.

“Is this real or a joke? I want to believe this is a prank,” said another commenter (@Okoro4Ama).

“This is wasteful. How many wards and towns do you have in your local government (area)?” said another commenter (@adegunna_julius).

Protracted political battle

Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State handpicked Mr Ihunwo and others about 21 days ago to run the affairs of the 23 local councils in the state, pending when new officials are elected.

Their appointment caused controversy and violent clashes because the former elected council officials whose tenure had expired refused to leave office, apparently because of the protracted political battle between Governor Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike, who is the FCT minister.

Most of the former elected council officials were Mr Wike’s loyalists.

The two estranged allies – Messrs Fubara and Wike – are fighting over the control of the political structure in the oil-rich state.

The political fight has split the state legislature into two factions and has disrupted governance in the state for over a year now.

Mr Ihunwo, before his latest appointment, was the chairperson of the National Youth Council in Rivers and a vocal critic of Mr Wike.

READ ALSO: Rivers Crisis: 25 lawmakers remain sacked despite appeal court judgement — Pro-Fubara Rep members

The Obio-Akpor where he is overseeing is where Mr Wike hails from.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Thursday delivered a landmark judgment which affirmed the financial autonomy of Nigeria’s 774 local governments.

The judgment is expected to reduce the state governors’ influence and control over the local government in Nigeria.