Muhajid Asari Dokubo, a prominent leader from the Niger Delta and former militant, has urged the past chairmen of Rivers State’s 23 local government areas to accept the conclusion of their three-year terms without causing any issues.
According to the Daily Sun, Governor Siminalayi Fubara had requested these chairmen, who were backed by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to step down once their terms ended.
However, the chairmen refused, claiming that the pro-Wike faction in the Rivers House of Assembly had extended their mandates. The Assembly, led by Martin Amaewhule, amended the law to allow the local government chairmen to extend their terms by six months, citing Fubara’s inability to organize local government elections.
Daily Post reports that during his speech at the 2024 Eid-el-Kabir celebrations in Port Harcourt, Asari Dokubo declared that extending the chairmen’s tenure violates the Nigerian Constitution.
He stressed that former chairmen cannot unilaterally extend their terms and still expect to be recognized.
Asari Dokubo, also known as the Edi Abali of Kalabari land, warned the former chairmen against provoking the “people’s power,” which could have serious consequences for them. He stated, “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. And I want to advise young people: look, don’t allow yourselves to be used.”
He continued, emphasizing the importance of respecting the singular authority of the governor, “Only one man can be governor of Rivers State at a time.
We would not have two governors at a time. The people of Rivers State are bigger than Muhajid Asari Dokubo.
Rivers State is bigger than any individual. No individual can take Rivers State people for a ride and pocket us. It is not possible.”
Asari Dokubo further criticized those who misuse the youth for their political agendas, pointing out that many leaders do not involve their own children in protests, unlike historical figures like Nelson Mandela or himself.
He stated, “Most of us (them), their (our) children are not here, and their children have never come out to stand in front of any protest.
They’re not like Mandela and his children or me and my children or any other person. A lot of people have not done this. So, nobody should be allowed to be used.”
He concluded by noting the spontaneous actions of the people in seizing local government secretariats, emphasizing that this movement is driven by the people themselves. “The people are showing people’s power.
The people have gone on their own to take over local government secretariats because it is about the people, and nobody can say that we voted for three years’ tenure for a chairman and the chairman should exceed one second of that tenure.
So, the people of Rivers State are exercising their power, and they are ready to take over until the government is ready to conduct a new election,” Asari Dokubo concluded.
