The Rivers State House of Assembly has dissolved the Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Council and sacked the council chairman, Mr. Augustine Ahiamadu.The dissolution is coming on the heels of increasing level of violence and killings in the area due to continued cult clashes.
The House, during its sitting on Tuesday, also constituted a caretaker committee headed by Mr. Isaac Umejuru and Mrs. Stella Amadi, while Augustine Nnadibia and Orji Egberika were picked as members.
Governor Nyesom Wike had written a letter to the House in which he requested the immediate dissolution of the council led by Ahiamadu, following the failure to curb incessant killings in the Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area.
It will be recalled that the area had over the years recorded a series of political, cult and communal clashes, which resulted in the death of hundreds of innocent indigenes of the council.
The Speaker of the House, Mr. Adams Dima, had shortly after the dissolution of the council, screened and confirmed Umejuru as the new caretaker chairman of Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni LGA.
Confirming the dissolution by the House, the member representing Onelga Constituency 2, Mr. Nathaniel Owaji, hailed Wike for the prompt action taken to save the lives of the Onelga people.
Owaji pointed out that the sacked chairman (Ahiamadu) lacked the competence to restore peace to the local government area.
“The LGA chairman that has just been sacked is the worst so far. I can tell you that over 1,000 persons have been killed in Onelga since he assumed office,” he said.
Owaji accused the ousted chairman of being responsible for the loss of lives in the LGA.
He said, “Before he became the chairman, there was no issue of political killings and kidnapping. But as soon as Austine Ahiamadu came into office, the issue of political killings and kidnapping came on board.
“I think what the House of Assembly has done today is the best. Yesterday night, two persons were kidnapped. Tomorrow, he will come and tell you that Onelga is in peace. I think we should praise the governor for listening to the cry of Onelga people.”
Also, the lawmaker representing Onelga constituency 1, Mr. Christian Ahiakwo, said the reason for the sacking was for the protection of lives and properties of the LGA.
He said, “When a chairman is unable to perform the functions he is delegated to do, there is no need for him to continue to be in office. The sacked chairman lacks the ideas and competence to handle the issue.
“Today, the 16 communities that make up Onelga have been deserted due to killings and we have an executive chairman who, for the past one year, cannot convoke a town hall meeting to ascertain the cause of the problem.”
Reacting, Ahiamadu described his ‘purported’ removal as laughable, adding that the decision by the House would not stand.
Ahiamadu, who spoke through his aide, Mr. Henry Peter, maintained that the people of the area knew those behind the killings in the LGA, adding that it was wrong for anybody to accuse him of being behind the crisis in the area.
“The purported removal of the chairman is not only laughable. It is unconstitutional and also unacceptable. As we speak, calm has returned to Egi in Onelga and this is due to collaboration among security agencies within the place.
“Their (House of Assembly) action exposes politicians of the Peoples Democratic Party from that area and that explained why they were bent on removing the chairman,” Ahiamadu said.
Vanguard……
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