Despite the takeover of the secretariats of the 23 Local Government Areas of Rivers State by the police, the chairmen and members of the Caretaker Committees have settled down to work in their respective local government areas. The governor had directed the chairmen to use alternative facilities to run the affairs of the local governments to avoid confrontation with the police.
The police had taken over the 23 local government secretariats in Rivers State following the crisis that erupted after the expiration of the tenure of the last chairmen and councilors and the subsequent formation of Caretaker Committees to run the councils by Gov. Siminilayi Fubara.
National Point visited Degema, Emohua, Asari-Toru and Akuku-Toru Local government areas and was greeted with the presence of heavily armed police personnel, state security and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps at the gates.
The gates of Emuoha and Asari Toru were under lock and people were prevented from entering the premises. The situation was slightly different at Degema and Akuku-Toru, where no staff reported on duty. At Akuku-Toru, about eight staff was seen seated at the veranda conversing.
A staff who spoke to this National Point, Mr. Tamunotonye Georgewill, said, “Despite the political tension in the state our local government is very peaceful, even when the caretaker committee chairman came to the council secretariat on Wednesday to Inaugurate the members, the place was calm and peaceful.”
On the welfare of local government workers, Georgewill praised the government of Siminilayi Fubara. “The government of Governor Fubara is very good to us because he has wiped away tears from our eyes by promoting and implementing our promotion. I was on grade level four and I was promoted to grade level nine. During Wike’s government I was paid N30,000 but when Fubrara came my salary skyrocketed. Now I can feed well. In Wike’s government, there was no promotion four eight years, we were stagnated but Fubara came and wiped away tears from our eyes.”
In a bid to entrench good governance at the local government level, the President General IjawWari Initiative Worldwide, Comrade Somina Wokoma, told this publication that the political situation in Rivers State was funny because a lot of things that ought not to happen were happening.
“We have seen government administration after administration. This fourth democratic republic began in 1999 and since then we’ve had governors come and leave office. The first governor of Rives State in the fourth republic Sir Peter Odili did eight years and left, Chibuike Amaechi came did eight years also left but what we are seeing in Rivers State has never happened before Wike came and is not willing to go and wants to be Jagaban of Rivers State.
“But in spite of this, we see that God wants to liberate Rivers State from the hands of a tyrant. Imagine local government chairmen that are elected for three years after the expiration of their tenure they are saying the embattled lawmakers have elongated their stay in office for another six months and are not willing to leave office,” he said.
Taking a swipe at the immediate past local government chairmen, Wokoma described them to be wicked to the people they governed stating that they don’t have any development plan.
“I have not heard any local government chairman that embarked on any agricultural venture partnering with the state government. I have not heard them engage the youths on vocational training in different trade. So, for me, it’s a wasted 3 years. It has been three years of looting, tyranny.
“For instance, the immediate-past local government chairman of Asari-Toru town in Angulama. In Buguma, a place that was meant for hotel he built staff quarters for staff that are not resident there. As it is, Buguma has no hotel.
“This is clearly a man that had no plan to develop Asari-Toru and that is why there is no revenue generation, the only source funds come to the local government is Federal allocation. Electricity that was the only thing the people could have benefited was epileptic during his tenure,” he said.
The Ijaw-born activist however seized the medium to advocate for inclusive governance to be entrenched at the local government system, asked the chairmen and their team to know that the local government is the closest to the people and as such should tackle their needs.
He said for the local government to have impact on the people they should think of people oriented programmes such as agricultural programmes, tourism, entertainment and entrepreneurial skills rather than focusing on politics because politics has made the people lazy.
He lamented the closure and carting away equipment of the Buguma fish farm built by the Chibuike Amaechi administration. “We had the best fish farm in West Africa built under the administration of Chibuike Amaechi. But the fish farm was looted and closed down. If that farm is functioning it would have created massive employment for our jobless youths,” he lamented.
Comrade Wokoma called on the caretaker committee chairmen and those that will take over after them to change the narrative of sharing money to sharing values and ideas to put food on the people’s table and make them responsible.
