Governor Siminalayi Fubara has voiced reservations over President Bola Tinubu’s recent statements about the violent demolition of Rivers State local government secretariats, especially the way in which his name was exclusively mentioned.
Fubara addressed the president’s message, which addressed the problem after the departure of police personnel from 23 local government secretariats, during a Monday appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
As political opponents fought the newly elected council members, violent conflicts broke out in at least four local government regions. Gunfire was reported in Ahoada East, and council buildings in Eleme, Ikwerre, and Emohua were set on fire.
The governor said: “The issue is very simple. It’s as simple as ABC. Everyone in Nigeria, everyone in Rivers State knows where this issue is coming from. It’s not rocket science. The issue is not Fubara. It is not.”
Governor Fubara persisted on holding local government elections on Saturday even though the police, the All Progressives Congress (APC), and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) all withdrew from the process, which led to an increase in political tension.
22 of the 23 chairmanships were won by the Action People’s Party (APP), while one seat was won by the Action Alliance (AA).
The new local government chairmen were sworn in by Fubara on Sunday, but several of them came under attack, and on Monday, numerous secretariats were set on fire.
In response, President Tinubu ordered the police to safeguard the secretariats late on Monday. He also urged political figures and those who support them to be cautious and to uphold the law.
Fubara, nevertheless, voiced worry at the president’s attention on him at the expense of other crisis participants.
“I do not have any issue with it (the President’s intervention), but I am a bit concerned when my name was the only one mentioned,” Fubara noted.
The governor accepted the Inspector General of Police’s involvement, but he also said that some of the disturbance was caused by the officers’ hasty departure from the secretariats, which gave criminals more confidence to attack.
“Maybe as a result of the police pulling their men out of those secretariats, it gave these hoodlums the opportunity to take advantage of the situation.
“I was never of the opinion that the police should pull out completely. It allowed miscreants to destroy the secretariats,” Fubara said.
To safeguard the recently elected officials and maintain peace and order, he emphasised the necessity of security personnel being on duty at the secretariats.