The crisis rocking Rivers State has continued unabated as the admin block of Obio Akpor Local Government Area of the state which hitherto bored the name of Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the FCT, has been renamed after Dr Obi Wali by the chairman of the council area, Hon. Chijioke Ihunwo.
This was announced in a statement issued by Ihunwo, in a post shared via X on Sunday morning.
The council chairman also attached a video showing the moment the facility was renamed Senator Dr Obi Wali.
The chairman wrote: “We have changed Wike’s name in admin block of Obio/Akpor Council, and replaced with the name of Senator Dr. Obi Wali.”
Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara earlier swore in the elected council chairmen of the 23 local government areas including Chijioke Ihunwo.
The council chairmen were inaugurated in a ceremony held at the Executive Council Chamber of the Government House in Port Harcourt, the state capital earlier this month.
The council election was marked by heightened tension due to strong opposition from Wike’s loyalists amid a rift between the former governor and his successor, Governor Fubara.
SaharaReporters reports that despite the challenges, the Action Peoples Party (APP) emerged victorious, securing 22 out of 23 chairmanship positions.
The removal of Wike’s name by Chijioke Ihunwo’s government is connected with the ongoing political crisis between the Federal Capital Territory minister and Governor Fubara.
Last Tuesday, Ihunwo urged President Tinubu to remove Wike as the FCT Minister, accusing him of disrupting Rivers local government elections and threatening democracy.
In an interview with Arise News, Ihunwo said, “There’s no need to declare state of emergency in Rivers State, Rivers State is very peaceful.
“What we want to do is to call on Mr President to call Nyesom Wike to order. Nyesom Wike is threatening democracy under the administration of Mr President. Wike is not God, Wike is a human being. Our President should call him to order.
“He disrupted our state. Go to other states, everywhere is very peaceful. Why is it that Rivers State? Wike cannot own Rivers State, Rivers State is too big for him to hold.”
“We also appeal to Mr President to address Nyesom Wike or immediately sack him, because he doesn’t even deserve to be in the cabinet of Mr President,” he said.
