Tension gripped the Port Harcourt City Local Government Council (PHALGA) in Rivers State on Wednesday as youths aligned with Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike converged around the council premises in a bid to stop the caretaker team of Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
The development emerged amid a crisis over local government administration in Rivers State. To ensure order, police presence was significantly increased around PHALGA and other local council areas in the state following reports of unrest.
Speaking to Channels Television, Maxwell Enwukwe, a former Council Executive and current coordinator of grassroots development initiatives in PHALGA, emphasized their dedication to maintaining peace and order. He noted, “These are youths from Port Harcourt Local Government Council. We have come to ensure peace and order in our local government council because yesterday, we received information that some individuals gathered hoodlums to besiege the council even during a public holiday.”
Enwukwe further explained, “Today, we have come to see why that happened, but fortunately, the police have taken over the local government council premises, and everyone is here peacefully. These are supporters of grassroots development initiatives loyal to the Minister of FCT.”
Despite the heavy police presence, the crowd remained stationed at the PHALGA area, which is near the Rivers State Government House, reflecting the heightened tensions over the leadership dispute.
The crisis was sparked by the expiration of the local government chairmen’s tenure in Rivers State on Tuesday, leading to conflicting claims about a tenure extension by the State House of Assembly.
Governor Fubara has asserted that there was no official extension of tenure and has nominated caretaker committees for the 23 local government councils in the state.
