The Chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, Rivers State chapter, Allwell Ihunda, escaped death narrowly as protesting youths chased him along Moscow Road in Port Harcourt, the state capital, on Tuesday.
Ihunda, who is the outgoing Chairman of Port Harcourt City Local Government Area, was on his way to the council secretariat with some aides and security details when the incident occurred.
It was gathered that he had alighted from his vehicle and tried to make his way into the council but met a group of youths who occupied the entrance.
Almost immediately, the youth started shouting, chasing him, the youths tried to get hold of Ibunda, who raced towards his car.
But the security details attached to the Mayor, as he is fondly called, resisted the youths from getting hold of their principal, shooting into the air to disperse them.
Ihunda jumped into a black SUV vehicle, escorted by aides and zoomed off while the youths continued shooting into the air.
A vehicle belonging to George Ariolu who is the outgone local government chairman of Obio/Akpor was also vandalised.
Recall that the state ALGON had vowed not to vacate office after the expiration of their tenure on June 17.
The LG chairmen, who were elected under the administration of Nyesom Wike as governor, had cited the local government amendment law made by the Martin Amaewhule-led House of Assembly.
The law extends the tenure of the council chairmen by six months due to the failure of Governor Siminalayi Fubara to conduct local government elections.
But a court nullified the amended law, prompting an appeal. The appeal court is set to deliver a ruling on the matter on June 20, 2024.
However, on Tuesday, some youths of Ijaw extraction camped outside the Port Harcourt Local Government Area Secretariat in solidarity with Fubara’s directive.
They sat in canopies, sang, danced, and waved the Ijaw Youth Congress flags. Some of them displayed placards with solidarity messages for Fubara amid heavy security presence.
Meanwhile, the Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, has convened a security council meeting with heads of security agencies following recent political developments in the state.
The meeting was held behind closed doors at the Government House in Port Harcourt on Tuesday.
After the meeting, Governor Fubara told the press that discussions with the security heads centred on strategies to contain the invasion of local government secretariats.
He cautioned the immediate past council chairmen against harbouring false hopes of returning to their positions.