Rivers crisis: Businesses located near LG headquarters remain shut
…Operators, business owners groan over losses
From Chris Eze, Port Harcourt
Business operators whose outlets are situated near the headquarters of the local government areas of Rivers State are crying out since their businesses have remained shut since Monday when fracas broke out between the pro Wike and Pro Fubara supporters over the control of local government affairs in the state.
Recall that the tenure of local government chairmen elected in the state three years ago came to an end on June 17, 2024, but the chairmen refused to vacate office citing the extension of their tenure by six months by the 27 pro Wike lawmakers in the House of Assembly.
However, a court order had quashed the purported tenure extension even as it also barred the 27 lawmakers from presenting themselves as members of the state assembly until the case before it is determined.
But while the determination of the matter in court was being awaited, the chairmen stuck to their gun and insisted that they would not leave office.
Amidst this scenario, the State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara in a statewide broadcast directed the Heads of Personnel Management in the 23 local government areas to take charge of the councils, asking the chairmen to go home since their tenure had ended.
This emboldened the governor’s supported who amassed at the councils and engaged the pro Wike supporters, overpowered them and took control of the councils. Two casualties were however reported as a police officer and a vigilante personnel were said to have been killed in the melee at Omuma Local Government Area.
Infuriated by the casualties recorded and reports of escalating crisis, the Inspector General of Police ordered a full take- over of the 23 LGAs by police until normalcy returns.
In carrying out the order, the police reportedly ordered all business operators around the local government secretariats to shut down and cordoned off the secretariats with police vans and their personnel.
Vehicular movement is also affected as motorists are being forced to seek alternative routes which has brought about slight increase in the transport fare being paid by commuters.
A trader whose shop is adjacent to the Eleme Local government secretariat in an interview lamented the hardship the situation has exposed business operators in the area to saying many of them can barely feed daily since they depend on daily sales to keep their families going.
He called on the police to allow people to open their businesses saying they have no part in the crisis between supporters of Wike and the state governor.
“What is our business in this fight? This is where we come to look for our daily bread and now they say we should not open because politicians are quarreling. Do they care about us?, he fumed.
For now it is not known when the police I.G.may withdraw his men from the local government headquarters to make way for business owners to bounce back to their businesses.
