- Removes Wike’s Name From LG Council Building
By Abiola Olawale
A week after assuming office, the newly elected Chairman of the Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State, Chijioke Ihunwo, has removed the name of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, from the administrative block of the council’s secretariat.
The New Diplomat gathered that shortly after Ihunwo assumed office, some men were sighted scrubbing Wike’s name off the administrative block.
Wike, a two-term governor of Rivers, hails from Rumuepirikom in Obio-Akpor LGA of the state.
His name was boldly engraved on the administrative building of the council secretariat before this latest development.
However, his name has now been replaced with the name of the late Senator Obi Wali, a former politician and activist in the state, who died in 1993.
Wali was one of the founding fathers of Rivers State in Nigeria and served as the first Commissioner for Education, as well as a member of the first executive council of the state.
Wali is known for his assertion that African literature should only be written in African languages. He emphasized the importance that works deemed “African” be written in the languages of the African peasantry and working classes rather than in English or other foreign languages.
The New Diplomat reports that development follows the supremacy battle between Wike and Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State.
The battle escalated to the October 5 local government election as the two heavyweights fought dirty for control of the grassroots.
Last week, Fubara swore in 23 newly elected LGA chairpersons.
The swearing-in ceremony came after the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) declared that the Action Peoples Party (APP) won 22 LGAs in the election, while the Action Alliance (AA) claimed one council.
The chairmen who contested under the APP are believed to be loyal to Fubara.
