By DADA AYOKHAI
As anticipated, the face-off between the state government and the council chairmen is about to take a violent dimension which may severely undermine the effective operation of the councils.
Today, suspected thugs have unlawfully taken control of the Etsako West Council Secretariat in Auchi, leaving council workers stranded and unable to perform their duties for the community.
This troubling development appears to be directly linked to the state government’s apparent strategy to block the reinstated council chairmen from returning to their offices.
Hon. Marvellous Zibiri, the Etsako West council chairman, is among those who received a reprieve from a court ruling that mandated no obstacles should impede the suspended chairmen from resuming their roles.
Yet, despite this court order, Hon. Zibiri was physically barred from accessing his office located within the council secretariat.
In a previous press statement, Hon. Zibiri proclaimed that he had resumed office by the court’s judgment.
However, a visit to the council secretariat in Auchi presents a starkly different reality.
The main entrance to the council was noticeably blocked by a group of fierce-looking thugs said to have been allegedly sponsored by the state government to make sure the council chairman and his deputy do not gain access to the council
Also, council workers reporting for duty met the whole place barricaded by the thugs and were forced to gather under the trees outside the secretariat to converse in hushed tones about this alarming situation, careful not to provoke the thugs.
A police van was also positioned at both the entrance and outside the council, but the deployed officers from the local government police command were few and appeared indifferent to the chaos unfolding before them.
Many council workers voiced their frustration over the apparent tacit support the police were giving to the thugs.
They complained bitterly about the tacit support the police provided the thugs, arguing that if indeed they were present to maintain order, they should have dismantled the barricades, expelled the thugs, and opened the gates to allow the workers to resume their responsibilities.
The obvious inaction of the police strongly supports the notion that their presence served merely to facilitate the illegality of preventing the council chairmen from resuming their roles.
