Ex-Rivers council chairs defy police order, stage protests
21 out of the 23 former local chairmen in Rivers State on Monday staged a protest at their various council areas.
According to reports, the former council bosses and loyalists of Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, protested in their local councils despite an advisory against protests issued by the state Police Command.
In Buguma, the council headquarters of the Asari-Toru LGA, former Chairman Onengiyeofori George, alongside his supporters, marched through the town streets as they gyrated to songs in Wike’s solidarity.
They waved placards with inscriptions, asking the police to continue occupying the council headquarters. Some inscriptions read, “Sim Fubara Can’t Continue to Act As He Likes” and “There’s No Vacancy in Asari-Toru Council”.
According to Channels Television, at Asari-Toru LGA, the protest almost turned violent when some men believed to be operatives of Asari Dokubo’s private military company, known as Amama soldiers, attempted to attack the protesters.
Vigilant police officers swiftly restrained the Amama soldiers. The demonstrators later presented a protest letter to the police.
It would be recalled that the police took over the 23 LGA council secretariats of the oil-rich South-South last Tuesday following the crisis that erupted over the three-year tenure expiration of the former LGA chairmen. Three deaths were recorded in the wake of the crisis.
