…Council Chairman Warns Blackmailers
By MAUREEN DICK
CHAIRMAN of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, Chijioke Ihunwo, has vowed to support and promote the vision of Governor Siminalayi Fubara, for eight years he would be in office.
He has also declared that any attack on the state governor is an attack on Obio/Akpor LGA, and the citizens will resist such an aggression.
The council boss again warned blackmailers of the state governor, stressing that nobody would govern the state by proxy.
Ihunwo made these declarations when he received members of the Correspondents’ Chapel of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) who paid him a courtesy visit in Port Harcourt yesterday.
The Obio/Akpor council chairman, who from at media reportage in the face of the current political quagmire in the state, said media practitioners in the country have not been fair to Governor Fubara.
He urged them to demonstrate professionalism and be objective in their reportage to enthrone peace and not escalate the crisis in the state.
Chinwo said: “Of course, you see what’s happening in Rivers State; so, we also need your cooperation. What’s happening, you see most of your colleagues start writing against the government, trying to blackmail the government of Rivers State.
“But, as a local government, as a state, you people are residing here, you all know what we passing through that one man wants to own our state and most of your colleagues are part of those who are promoting the person who wants to own Rivers State.
“Let me also say that Rivers State is too big for one man to own and that is why we are here to defend our people.
“Our local government has been liberated. Whatever they are doing is their business, we are not interested, what we are interested in are the people.
“You also know that his Excellency, the governor of Rivers State is a quiet and humble person. The governor is a quiet person. Everybody must not be quiet. I’m not a quiet person. So, my duty is to shout and challenge them. We won’t allow them to intimidate us.
“So, we are watching, we’re also going to partner with you – those who are ready to work with us. If you are not ready to work with us, we won’t work with you, that’s just the simple truth. If you’re here to blackmail the government of His Excellency, the governor of Rivers State, we will not work with you people.”
He emphasized: “For our local government, we have taken charge of this local government. Whether you like it or not, we are in charge of this local government.
“During the crisis, you saw what happened after the swearing in ceremony, that people tried coming here to disturb the council. And we said no to that.
“Like I said before, nobody can burn any building here; if you try it, we’ll burn your investment. That’s the simple truth.
“You’ll can’t come and burn government building that you did contribute. It’s not your personal money or your father’s money. You want to come and put it on fire and people are clapping, Nigerians are clapping.
“You saw what happened in Ikwerre local government, Emuoha, you can’t try it in Obio/Akpor local government, we will resist you. You can’t try it.
“Anybody who is is fighting Governor Fubara is fighting Obio/Akpor local government.”
Chinwo urged the media to continue to support the governor of the state, assuring that the council would reciprocate their gesture.
“The governor means well for Rivers State. You can attest to that the governor has done a lot of projects and commissioned projects without media fanfare.
“Our governor is a man, he’s developing Rivers State gradually, we are moving forward. So, be part of development strides in our state. Be part of the history that will say this people stood for the truth.
“For me, I’ve stood by the truth that Fubara, I’ll stand with him for eight years. So, no amount of intimidation that’ll make me lose focus. Nobody can intimidate me.”