The Rivers State House of Assembly, led by Martin Amaewhule, is upset about the Caretaker Committee Chairmen (CTC) staying in office despite a Supreme Court ruling declaring them illegal. The lawmakers are calling for their arrest. Recently, the Supreme Court ruled in a case between the Attorney General of the Federation and the Attorneys General of the 36 states, stating that CTCs are illegal.
During a plenary session on Monday, House Leader Major Jack informed the members that he had a Certified True Copy of the Supreme Court judgement, which he presented to the Speaker.
Chairman of the House Committee on Local Governments, Ignatius Onwuka, expressed concern about the continued activities of CTC Chairmen despite the court ruling. “Some impostors are pretending to be caretaker committee chairmen in the 23 local governments.
This worries me because we amended the law, stating that only elected Local Government officials should handle local government activities,” Onwuka said. He added that these impostors are imposing levies and rates, harassing innocent people, and parading themselves as legitimate officials. “We felt it was important to bring these activities to your notice,” he said.
Another member, Ofiks Kagbang, who represents the Andoni Constituency, accused Governor Fubara of creating chaos. He stated, “The governor is inviting anarchy. The Supreme Court ruled against caretaker committees, yet the governor is still allowing them to operate, collecting levies and rates. Isn’t that anarchy?”
After a vote, Amaewhule urged the police to arrest the caretaker committee chairmen wherever they are found. He also instructed the Chairman of the House Committee on Information to inform the public about their decision.
