Former Niger Delta agitator and militant warlord, Mujahid Asari Dokubo, has urged Rivers State local government Chairmen to accept the end of their three-year tenure and “go home quietly.”
This statement comes in the wake of a brewing crisis over the tenure of the 23 council chairmen.
Recall that Governor Siminalayi Fubara in a statewide radio broadcast on Tuesday morning, directed the Chairmen, backed by Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Nyesom Wike, to vacate office.
However, they have refused, citing a law amendment by the pro-Wike faction of the Rivers House of Assembly under former Speaker Martins Amaewhule that extended their tenure by six months.
The Assembly’s law was meant to cover for the alleged failure of Fubara to conduct local government elections.
Daily Trust reports that the State ALGON Chairman, Allwell Ihunda, insists the law empowers them to remain in office.
However, Asari Dokubo, speaking during the 2024 Eid-el-Kabir celebrations in Port Harcourt, condemned the tenure elongation as unconstitutional and urged the former chairmen to avoid inviting the “wrath of the people.”
Dokubo said, “Local government tenure has expired today (June 17, 2024). They should quietly go home. If they want to seek re-election in accordance with the Constitution, they should do so. But there is no tenure elongation in the constitution. Their position is tenure-bound and that tenure has expired. Let them not cause unnecessary problems for the people of the state.”
Asari Dokubo made it known that the state is bigger than any individual and urged young people to protect it against those who see it as their private estate.
He stressed the importance of adhering to constitutional limits and respecting the will of the people, who he noted are ready to take over until new elections are conducted.
