The protesting youths.
.Ask chairmen to vacate office
Asari Dokubo: Rivers people would takeover council secretariats from tomorrow till the state government is ready to conduct the local government election
By John Amadi
Rivers State political crisis is getting worse as youths from Kalabari ethnic group on Monday June 17, 2024, blocked entrance of the secretariats of three councils – Degema, Asari-Toru and Akuku-Toru – of the state.
The youths, who forced out traders from the secretariats before closing the gates, were demanding the vacation of the council chairmen from office, as their three-year tenure has expired.
Their protest also coincided with the visit of the former Niger Delta agitator, Asari Dokubo, who is from the Kalabari ethnic group, to the Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara at the Government House in Port Harcourt on Monday.
Asari Dokubo | File Image
Also read: Taming the Rivers’ political monster
Dokubo, who supported the youths, advised the elected chairmen of the 23 local government areas in Rivers State to quietly leave office by midnight on Monday, with the expiration of their three-year tenure in office.
He said that despite arguments from the chairmen, they must leave office to avoid creating fundamental problems in the state.
Asari, who led Muslim Community to Governor Siminalayi Fubara on Sallah visit, said that the importance of adhering to the stipulated tenure limits in the Local Government Law of 2018 was to maintain order and legality.
He also cautioned the youths against being recruited to disrupt the peace of the state during “this transition period.”
Besides, Dokubo threatened that the Rivers people would takeover council secretariats from tomorrow (Tuesday June 18, 2024) till the state government is ready to conduct the local government election.
Meanwhile, Governor Fubara has pledged to address the requests of Muslim leaders, including the construction of a central mosque in Port Harcourt and the establishment of a mosque at Rivers State University for Muslim students.
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