The Rivers Good Governance Forum has raised an alarm over a fresh plot by the outgoing Chairmen of Local Government Councils in Rivers State to obtain a court injunction, enabling them to collect monthly allocations after their tenure expires in June.
In a statement by Comrade Chukwudi Ezenwaji, Director of Mobilisation, and Hon. Cyril Enebeli, Media Director, the forum disclosed that the outgoing local government chairmen approached the Federal High Court in Abuja even after closing hours on Friday to secretly obtain the injunction. This maneuver aims to allow them access to public funds after their term in office has concluded.
The forum alerted the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and the National Judicial Council, warning that urgent steps are necessary to prevent the Federal High Court in Abuja, where Nyesom Wike oversees as Minister, from legitimizing the hijacking of Rivers State local government allocations by outgoing chairmen post-tenure.
The statement highlighted that Samuel Nwanosike, the pro-Wike Chairman of Ikwerre Local Government, recently boasted that he would not vacate his office at the end of his tenure on June 16. In a viral video, Nwanosike dared the state governor, Siminalayi Fubara, by refusing to leave his office.
Nwanosike’s defiance was further demonstrated as he stated, “We don’t wear jeans in Ikwerre local government. We wear white, we tie wrapper, we wear Ogbakata. Come and disobey the law, we will wait for you. The law of Nigeria is the law passed by Martin Amaewhule. If dem born you well, show your face. Thank you.”
The forum reminded the judiciary and Nigerians of a Rivers State High Court ruling that the extension of the tenure of local government council chairmen by the State House of Assembly was “unconstitutional and ultra vires to their oath of office.”
Earlier this week, Justice Daketima Gabriel Kio, in Suit No: PHC/1320/CS/2024, held that the Local Government Law No. 2 of 2024, which purported to extend the tenure of local government council chairmen for an additional six months, was invalid. Kio declared it inconsistent with the 1999 Constitution and Section 9 (1) of the Rivers State Local Government Law No. 5 of 2018.
The chairmen of Opobo/Nkoro and Bonny local government areas, Enyiada Cookey-Gam and Anengi Claude Wilcox, respectively, along with four others, were the Applicants in the suit. The respondents included the governor of Rivers State, the speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, and the Attorney General of the State.
The court further held that the applicable law was the Rivers State Local Government Law No. 5 of 2018, which fixed a three-year tenure for local government chairmen and councillors, not the Local Government Law No. 2 of 2024, which was enacted to unlawfully extend their tenure.
The forum concluded that the judiciary would undermine its own credibility if the alleged plot by the outgoing chairmen is supported by the High Court in Abuja, given that the Rivers State High Court has already ruled against the extension of their tenure.
