Muhajid Asari Dokubo, leader of the Niger Delta Volunteer Force, has urged the former chairmen of Rivers State’s 23 Local Government Areas to accept the end of their three-year tenure and step down.
Dokubo made the remark while speaking in Port Harcourt on the sidelines of the 2024 Eid-el-Kabir celebrations.
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 problem for the people of the State.”
He cautioned the chairmen against attempting to extend their stay in office, stressing that it contradicts the oath they swore to uphold. Dokubo warned that any attempt to defy the people’s will would invite the wrath of “people’s power,” which would descend upon them to their dismay.
He also advised young people in the state to understand their roles in protecting Rivers State against self-seeking individuals who regard the state as their personal estate.
Dokubo commended the people for exercising their “people’s power” by taking over local government secretariats, demanding new elections, and refusing to allow chairmen to exceed their tenure by even a second.
