Rivers crisis: Fire guts Eleme LG Secretariat
A section of the Eleme Local Government Council secretariat has been set ablaze. According to a phone conversation with former Ambassador Oji Ngofa who hails from Eleme, the newly elected chairman Brain Gokpa came to the council secretariat accompanied by his councilors and supporters but discovered that a few of the buildings in the council had been set ablaze. The new council chairman, his councilors, and supporters have vowed to take over the secretariat come what may. In Emohua council, some unknown individuals have barricaded the entrance to the secretariat. They’re resisting the resumption of the new Chairman, David Omereju. In a social media video, they can be heard chanting “No Wike, No Rivers State!!” So far, no arrests have been made and the police are yet to release any statement on the situation. There is a palpable fear of a potential outbreak of violence in some councils of the state. The lead-up to the Rivers LG elections was marred by controversies. Although details are still sketchy, the incident comes just days after the Rivers Local Government Elections which were swept by the Action Peoples Party (APP). Meanwhile, there was a disagreement in the Ahoada Local Government Area of the state on Monday after the police unsealed the council secretariats on the order of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP). Channels Television learnt that some police officers were spotted firing into the air to disperse some persons who tried to resist the resumption of the chairman of Ahoada East LGA Ahoada East is the L.G.A of the Edison Ehie, the Chief of Staff to the Governor. The incident is coming days after council polls in the oil-rich state. The elections were swept by the Action Peoples Party (APP) which won 22 out of the 23 LGAs while the Action Alliance (AA) took the remaining one. Disu said the police under his administration will employ community policing and strategic intelligence gathering.