Former chairmen of the twenty-three Local Government Areas in Rivers State have been urged by the leader of the Niger Delta Volunteer Force, Asari Dokubo, to accept the end of their three years tenure in good faith and go home.
Dokubo, who spoke on the sideline of the 2024 Eid-el-Kabir celebrations, in Port Harcourt, on Monday, said tenure elongation for the Rivers LG chairmen is an aberration to the Constitution of Nigeria.
Dokubo stated that the chairmen, whose tenure expired on 17th June, cannot force themselves on the people in the guise of an extension of time.
According to Dokubo, the move to elongate their stay in office runs contrary to the oath of office they swore to
Dokubo warned the former chairmen not to invite the wrath of, what he called, the
“people’s power”, because it would descend on them, to their dismay.
He said: “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. And I want to advise young people, that: look, don’t allow yourselves to be used.”