Rivers crisis: Pro-Wike chairmen slam NULGE over planned protests

The Association of Local Governments of Nigeria has slammed the National Union of Local Government Employees for planning a protest against the police siege in 23 local government council secretariats of Rivers State. 

This came as they called the NULGE to summon its members in the state to order, as well as the personnel of local government councils to “refrain from any protest that their greedy leaders want to drag them into.”

Recall that the NULGE President in the state, Clifford Paul, in a statement in Port Harcourt on Saturday, gave the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, a four-day ultimatum to order his men to vacate the 23 LG councils they have presently barricaded or the union would mobilise its members for a protest.

Paul, according to the statement alleged that the action of the police has prevented its members from going to work from where they provide for their families and the attendant man-hour losses.

Similarly, the State chairmen of the Nigerian Labour Congress, Alex Agwanwor and his Trade Union Congress counterparty, Ikechukwu Onyefuru, in a joint statement also condemned the action of the police and backed the NULGE ultimatum to the IGP for his men to vacate the council headquarters or face similar protest.

But, the embattled Rivers State ALGON Chairman, Allwell Ihunda, loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, accused NULGE of taking sides in the political crisis in the state.

Ihunda, who stated this at a media briefing in Port Harcourt on Sunday also faulted Governor Siminalayi Fubara for appointing NULGE members who are council workers into caretaker committees for the 23 LGAs, saying it is wrong except they resign from their duties.

Ihunda alleged that it was the reason that NULGE was collaborating with the NLC and the TUC to stage the protest against the police on Monday, pointing out that the governor had gone ahead to appoint the members of the CTC when the Court asked all parties in the matter to maintain status quo.

He stated, “We are aware that despite the matter in the Court of Appeal, on the 19th of June, the Rivers State Governor went ahead to appoint caretaker committee members for the 23 local government areas of the State although the Appeal Court has stated clearly that all parties should maintain status quo on all the suits before the Court.

“Now from the list of caretaker committee members, we observe that across the 23 LGA appointments were made from NULGE members as part of the caretaker committees whereas these NULGE members are staff of the council. They were not supposed to be.

“That is the reason why we observed recently that NULGE has collaborated with the NLC and TUC to carry out a protest tomorrow 24th of June against the policemen that the Inspector General of Police has ordered to stay in the councils to maintain law and order to forestall further deaths that were experienced in Omuma LGA.”

On his part, the embattled chairman of the Emuoha Local Government Area, Dr Chidi Lloyd, said it is unfortunate that NULGE in the state has thrown itself into a political dispute in the state.

Dr Lloyd stated, “We have heard from publications by NULGE under the leadership of one Clifford Paul, they have dangerously entered the arena of political dispute.

“These are supposed to be civil servants. But they (NULGE) have made nominations into the illegal caretaker committees who were sworn by Oko-Jumbo and two others.

“And they did not resign their appointments in according to the provisions of the Rivers State Local Government Law. First, for you to be a member of a local government caretaker committee you must resign whatever appointment you hold.

“We are not aware that any of them have resigned. They have taken the oath of office. So they cannot say they are calling for the police to vacate the premises of the various local governments because they want to go to work.

“These are people now who are dangerously aligned in the seeming dispute. We can cause whatever violence that they want, but we will not do that because we cannot be seen to be maiming the same people that we are leading.”

Citing the amendment of the local government law by the Martin Amaewhule House of Assembly which extended the tenure of the LG chairmen, he said a similar situation had taken place in Zamfara without anybody throwing stones because according to him it is the way to go if the Government is not able to provide the enabling environment for elections to hold.

“The Assembly extended the tenure of the local government chairmen in Zamfara for six months. Our sister State here, Akwa Ibom has also done it. What we have here (Rivers) is a situation where the Governor is inept, and inexperienced and is now open to all kinds of advice, including from people who want to benefit from the system.

“So we are calling on the National President of NULGE to call his members in Rivers State to order. We are also calling local government councils staff to refrain from any protest that their greedy leaders want to drag them into.”

He stated further, “I hear all these illegal Caretaker Committees as constituted by the Governor have gone ahead to make all kinds of announcements including dissolution of standing committees that we appointed.

“All of those committees are still intact. We have enjoined our committees to continue the discharge of the functions given them by those who were democratically elected by Rivers people.”

Lloyd noted that as law-abiding citizens the ALGON will wait for what the Court will say in the various issues awaiting its decision, rather than take laws into their hands.

He added, “We are not going to allow the police to be blackmailed. How is it that they have stopped us from accessing our councils to discharge our civic obligations? We are happy with the police and we welcome what the IG has done to avert any further breakdown of law and order.

“We cannot be cowed, we cannot be intimidated. You are all aware that this is a government we all collectively know that the 21 of us here were the coordinators of Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s campaign organization in our various local governments.

“So what is going on is beyond imagination. But it is not unmindful that a man can invest in a business and he is duped. We consider ourselves as having been duped in the business we collectively invested in.”

(Punch)