Some political thugs in Rivers State have resorted to violence as a means to stop the reopening of the local government Secretariat in the state, especially the Ahoada East Local Government Secretariat.
Afripost.ng gathered that Ahoada East is the Local Government Area of the Governor’s Chief of Staff, Edison Ehie.
According to witnesses who later fled the area, police officers fired into the air to disperse the political thugs who were also brandishing weapons while attempting to disrupt the Ahoada East chairman’s assuming of office on Monday.
Grace Iringe-Koko, the Command’s spokesperson, issued a statement early on Monday morning noting the direction to reopening all 23 LGA secretariats across the state.
The newly deployed Commissioner of Police, CP Mustapha Bala, acting on orders from the IGP, Kayode Egbetokun, ordered the immediate removal of all police troops previously deployed to shut and defend the state’s council secretariats.
The secretariat was shut in June as a result of a disagreement between Caretaker Committee Chairmen loyal to Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the immediate past local government chairmen loyal to Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.
Governor Siminalayi Fubara swore in 23 freshly elected local government chairmen across the state. The process took place in the Executive Council Chambers of the Government House in Port Harcourt, the state capital, on Sunday, a day after the Rivers State Independent National Electoral Commission (RSIEC) conducted an election at the grassroots.
There was also an early indication that some people attempted to barricade the Port Harcourt City LGA secretariat earlier on Monday, when the Chairman, Ezebunwo Ichemati, sought to enter.
The incident was supposedly averted when the hoodlums noticed the chairmen, councillors, and supporters coming at the council.