Governor Wike Dissolves 22 LGA Chairmen

 

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state has today Thursday,

October 8, sacked 22 caretaker committee chairmen out

of the 23 local government areas of the state.

Governor Wike

In a statement at the Rivers state government house

signed by Opunabo Inko Tariah, the senior special adviser

on media and publicity to the governor, Wike said : “The

dissolution is with immediate effect. The twenty two

caretaker committees are to handover to the various heads of

local government administration.”

The fired caretaker committee chairmen had spent the

statutory three months allowed in office by the

constitution and the state government law. The three-

month tenure of the chairmen expires today.

He said: “The statutory three months tenure for Caretaker

committees expires today.”

Wike had in the night of Thursday, July 9, sworn in the 22

caretaker committee chairmen to replace the elected

council executives of the All Progressives Congress who

were dissolved by a federal high court ruling delivered by

Justice Lambo Akanbi.

The governor said then that he had vowed to respect the

rule of law when he assumed office on May 29 stressing

that it was the reason why he did not dissolve the APC led

councils which he said was illegally put in place by the

Rotimi Amaechi-led government.

He noted that some state governors who inherited local

government councils dissolved them immediately they

came on board but he had to take time to allow due

process to prevail.

However, it was not specified when a new caretaker

committees would be constituted and sworn in to avoid

any vacuum in government.

 

The 22 All Progressives Congress local government

chairmen who were previously sacked by the court had

taken their case to the industrial court in Yenagoa,

Bayelsa state capital.

They had challenged the legality of their sack having been

elected on the platform the APC.

Governor Wike also described the allegation that he was

sponsoring a public protest in Abuja and Port Harcourt

against the appointment of his predecessor as minister

as not only spurious, but fatuous and malicious.