APC Sounds Alarm on Rivers Crisis: Don’t Wait Until It’s Too Late
In less than four months, the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) has again called for a state of emergency in Rivers state to address the growing political crisis.
This call follows the chaotic eviction of the 23 local government council chairmen whose terms ended at midnight on June 17. The expiration of their terms sparked widespread debate, fueled by a law enacted by former Speaker Martins Amaewhule, which aimed to extend the chairmen’s terms by six months until new elections could be organized.
Despite the law, tensions ran high as the deadline approached. On Tuesday morning, armed men, reportedly hired from the Niger Delta, took over several council secretariats, causing shootings, looting, and violence in areas like Emohua, Obio/Akpo, Akuku Toru, Eleme, and Ikwerre. Some people were injured, and some were killed.
In one local government area, the effigy of Chief Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, was torn down and thrown into the street. Fearing anarchy, Governor Siminalayi Fubara ordered local government heads to take control of the council secretariats. However, mobs prevented the former chairmen from accessing their offices.
In Port Harcourt, the Mayor Allwell Ihunda was blocked from entering the secretariat amid nearby gunfire. In Obio/Akpo, an angry mob vandalized a vehicle belonging to the former chairman George Ariolu. A police officer, a vigilante, and another man were killed during the unrest, prompting the Inspector General of Police to send reinforcements to protect council properties.
Despite warnings from the state Commissioner of Police, Olatunji Disu, against taking the law into their own hands, youths armed with sticks and other weapons occupied various council secretariats, singing war songs.
Former Eleme LGA chairman Obarilomate Ollor warned against forcibly removing him, threatening severe consequences for any invaders.
In response to the escalating violence, the APC urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to declare a state of emergency to prevent Rivers state from descending into complete chaos. Shortly after Governor Fubara swore in the new caretaker committee chairmen, APC chairman Chief Tony Okocha declared at a press conference, “We are in a state of war.”
