Tensions have erupted in Ahoada East, Rivers State, following the lifting of a three-month ban on Local Government Area secretariats by the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, on Monday.
Ahoada East is the Local Government Area of Edison Ehie, Chief of Staff to the Governor. Police officers were seen firing into the air to disperse crowds attempting to resist the resumption of the Ahoada East chairman. Eyewitnesses, including journalists at the scene, reported fleeing to safety during the incident.
Earlier on Monday, the spokesperson for the Rivers State Police Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, issued a statement directing the reopening of all 23 LGA secretariats in the state. The newly deployed Commissioner of Police, CP Mustapha Bala, acting on orders from the IGP, instructed the immediate withdrawal of police personnel previously guarding the sealed council offices.
The secretariats were initially sealed in June due to a dispute between caretaker committee chairmen loyal to Governor Siminalayi Fubara and former LGA chairmen aligned with Nyesom Wike, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Governor Fubara recently inaugurated 23 newly elected local government chairmen at a ceremony in Port Harcourt, following elections conducted by the Rivers State Independent National Electoral Commission (RSIEC) over the weekend.
There were also reports of a similar incident in Port Harcourt City LGA, where individuals allegedly attempted to block Chairman Ezebunwo Ichemati from accessing the council secretariat earlier on Monday. The crisis was averted when supporters arrived at the scene. Ichemati later supervised the clearing and cleaning of the council premises.
