The Nigeria Civil Service Union (NCSU) has voiced its displeasure with President Bola Tinubu's inaction in the ongoing political crisis in Rivers State. The SCSU has demanded that Tinubu investigate the involvement of Chief Nyesom Wike, the Inspector General of Police, and Mr. Tony Okocha, the representative of Rivers State on the Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), as well as the 23 local government councils that have recently expired.
During an interview with reporters in Port Harcourt, the chairman of the National Confederation of Students (NCSU) in Rivers State, Comrade Chukwuka Richman Osumah, expressed his dismay at President Tinubu's apparent lack of response to the crisis and urged Tinubu to immediately confront the three individuals responsible for the political upheaval in the state.
Particularly, he claims that the State's Inspector General of Police should have removed the police officers who have blocked the secretariats of local government councils by now and should instead have played a mediating and impartial role in the matter. He pointed out that caretaker committees are constituted to administer the activities of local government councils in other states in the country, thus he asked why the situation in Rivers State was different. Osumah stated that the current situation in the state is having a detrimental impact on both the people of the state and the reputation and trustworthiness of the Tinubu administration, while confirming that Governor Fubara is completely loyal to the president.
He claims that President Tinubu is perceived as weak and inept by those outside of Rivers State and Nigeria due to the worsening political instability in the state and the fact that he is unable to discipline his government officials. He asserted without a shadow of a doubt that Wike and Okocha, who asserts himself as the leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Rivers State, are manipulating their followers and supporters to fuel the unrest in the state.
Osumah criticized what he saw as an extreme display of political desperation on the part of Wike's supporters, who are being nudged along by Okocha as if they were holding campaign rallies despite the lack of an imminent election. Osumah urged President Tinubu to immediately impose discipline on the Minister and his followers. He emphasized that caretaker committees are present at local government councils across the country, not just in Rivers State, and questioned why the police should be able to block off council secretariats in the state rather than letting council employees and residents go about their lawful business as usual.
According to the union leader, the state's economy and the enterprises of many people who rely on the councils for their daily livelihood are suffering greatly due to the prolonged blockage of the councils. The people of the state are going about their businesses unmolested, as Osumah pointed out. This is in contrast to the claims made by those who are advocating for the declaration of a state of emergency, which, according to him, only serve to bring shame on the Tinubu administration.
Osumah was equally concerned about Governor Fubara's recent complaints about the PDP's national leadership's handling of the state's political crisis. He said that the party's failure to take decisive action against Wike shows that it is greatly compromised and unable to assert its authority. On behalf of the Nigeria Governors' Forum (NGF), he urged his fellow governors to stand by Governor Fubara and provide him with unwavering support.