A statue of the current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and former Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, was on Tuesday, destroyed by angry youths in Obi Akpor Local Government Area.
This comes amid growing tensions over the elongated tenure of local government chairmen.
The latest development is said to be an offshoot of the dispute between the camps of Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his predecessor, Nyesom Wike.
The two politicians fell out barely three months after Fubara succeeded Wike as governor of the oil-rich state.
Despite a brief period of calm, the issue of local government chairmen’s tenure has reignited the conflict.
Governor Fubara recently issued a directive for all 23 local government area (LGA) chairmen, many of whom are loyal to Wike, to vacate their offices due to the expiration of their tenures.
However, the chairmen refused to comply, citing an extension granted by the pro-Wike faction of the Rivers House of Assembly.
The extension was allegedly due to the Fubara administration’s failure to conduct local government elections.
In a statewide broadcast on Tuesday, Fubara reinforced his directive, ordering the LGA chairmen to hand over to the Heads of Administration in their respective councils.
Following the governor’s directive, large numbers of youths mobilized across the state, targeting LGA secretariats.
In Obi Akpor, where Wike had previously served as chairman for two terms, some youths took their protest further by demolishing a statue erected in his honour. Amid chants of “No more Wike,” the protesters dismantled the statue, with one youth notably removing the hat from the statue and slamming it on the ground.
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Rivers Youths Protest LG Chairmen’s Tenure Extension (video)