Muhajid Asari Dokubo, the leader of the Niger Delta Volunteer Force, has urged the former chairmen of the 23 Local Government Areas in Rivers State to accept the end of their three-year tenure and step down.
Speaking in Port Harcourt during the 2024 Eid-el-Kabir celebrations, Dokubo emphasized that tenure elongation for the Rivers LG chairmen is unconstitutional.
Dokubo highlighted that the chairmen’s tenure expired on June 17th and that any attempt to extend their time in office would be against their oath. He warned them against provoking “people’s power,” which could react strongly against such actions.
“Local Government tenure has expired today (17th June, 2024). They should quietly go home. If they want to seek re-election in accordance with the Constitution, they should go and seek re-election. But there is no tenure elongation in the Constitution. Their position is tenure-bound, and that tenure has expired. Let them not cause unnecessary problems for the people of the State,” Dokubo stated.
He also advised young people in the state to resist being manipulated by individuals seeking to extend their control. Dokubo stressed the importance of understanding their roles in protecting the state from those who treat it as their private property.
“Only one man can be governor of Rivers State at a time. The people of Rivers State are bigger than Muhajid Asari Dokubo. Rivers State is bigger than any individual. No individual can take Rivers State people for a ride and pocket us. It is not possible,” Dokubo added.
He criticized leaders whose children do not participate in protests, contrasting them with figures like Mandela and his own family. Dokubo underscored that the people of Rivers State are actively exercising their power by taking control of local government secretariats, insisting that no chairman should exceed their elected tenure by even a second.
“The people are showing people’s power. The people have gone on their own to take over local government secretariats because it is about the people, and nobody can say that we voted for three years’ tenure for a chairman and the chairman should exceed one second of that tenure. So, the people of Rivers State are exercising their people’s power, and they are ready to take over until the government is ready to conduct a new election,” Dokubo concluded.
