Governor Siminalayi Fubara has warned all heads and officials of the 23 local government areas in the state against appearing before the Rivers Assembly, threatening to sack any such official who disobeys the directive.
The governor’s directive was conveyed via an online circular signed by Ebirieneuket Nteile C, Director of Information and Communications for the Chairman of the Local Government Service Commission, dated Tuesday, May 7, 2024.
The directive is in furtherance of a full-scale political war between the governor and members of the Martin Amaewhule-led State House of Assembly on one hand, and between the governor and the Minister of FCT, Nyesom Wike, on the other.
Fubara had earlier declared that in the eyes of the law, the state does not have state lawmakers, as 27 lawmakers had defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), thereby losing their mandate as enshrined in the constitution.
The circular reads in part, “I am directed to inform you, all officers of the 23 Local Government Councils in Rivers State, not to honor or appear before the Members of the Assembly or any purported invitation by anybody or group of persons in any guise without the permission of the Acting Chairman of the Local Government Service Commission. Any staff who disobeys or violates this instruction will be dismissed accordingly from service.”
