Rivers State Police Permit Former Chairpersons’ Protest Amid NULGE Suspensions

The Rivers State police department on Monday allowed former chairpersons of local councils to hold protest marches, while advising the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) to cancel their planned protest.

A former governor of Rivers, Nyesom Wike, who is in a political feud with the current governor Siminalayi Fubara, has the support of many of these former chairpersons. Wike now serves as the FCT (Federal Capital Territory) minister.

The police took control of the 23 council secretariats in the state last week after clashes between Fubara's and Wike's supporters led to two deaths, including a police officer.

The closure of the council secretariats has prevented local government workers from accessing their offices, prompting NULGE to give the police a four-day ultimatum to leave the secretariats or face protests.

The organized labor groups including the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) in Rivers State expressed support for NULGE's planned protest.

"The police command respects the right to lawful assembly but has received credible intelligence indicating potential infiltration of the planned protest on Monday," police spokesperson in the state Grace Iringe-Koko said, Premium Times reported.

She added, "Hoodlums plan to hijack the protest and instigate chaos in the state. Consequently, the command advises the organizers to suspend the planned protest to avert any possible breakdown of law and order."

The former chairperson of Ikwerre local council Samuel Nwanosike noted that the former chairpersons were protesting across the 23 council areas, urging "everybody to stay away from the council until the court gives a valid order for us to follow."

"We will not allow hoodlums to take over our offices and cart away hard-earned materials and resources we have gathered," Nwanosike added. "We have confidence in the police but the people are already blackmailing the police – those who are already involved in the matter like members of the caretaker committees."

He explained that there were NULGE people who were civil servants who did not resign their position before taking up an appointment in the caretaker committee, adding that some of them were serving as chairpersons of various councils of NULGE.

"They are now part of the (caretaker) committee, how can they be a judge in their own matter? They are telling the police that they want to go to work. If you allow such miscreants to intimidate the police, for how long can the police hold guard to it?" he questioned.

The Rivers State Chairman of the TUC Ikechukwu Onyefuru, on the other hand, said they have stepped down all their plans for peaceful protests that were slated for June 24 (Monday), adding that there was no war in Rivers State as the state was enjoying peace.

He added, "As organized labor, we have suspended all our actions. However, we will continue to pursue by legitimate means a process to get our workers back to work," Punch reported.