Barely 24 hours after the council polls, Rivers State Gov. Siminalayi Fubara has sworn in the newly elected council chairmen of the 23 local government areas.
The exercise took place on Sunday at the Executive Council Chamber of the Government House in Port Harcourt, the state capital, just hours after Adolphus Enebeli, the Chairman of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission, issued certificates of return to the chairmen.
Amid heightened tension on Saturday, the Action People’s Party won 22 out of 23 chairmanship positions, while the Action Alliance candidate won one seat.
Addressing the new chairmen, Fubara urged them to emulate his approach to governance and to be patient and calculative.
The governor said there are plans to perpetrate violence against the elected officials when they resume their duties on Monday.
Fubara, however, admonished the chairmen to see their election as an opportunity to work for the people at the grassroots level.
He said, “I’m aware that they are mobilising 20 people per unit to go and confront you tomorrow when you resume in your local government headquarters. Please, if they are coming with violence, avoid them.
“The peace of this state is too important to us. Everybody knows what they are planning, but please, I want to beg everyone to follow my approach.
“At the right time, you will always win if you are patient and calculative. We have made our promises to our people. We are going to lead them to the promised land.”
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