Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has threatened to sack any council chairman that allows the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to hold processions and hoist its flag within their jurisdiction in Rivers.
Mr Wike handed down the warning during a meeting with the 23 council chairmen, community development committees and youth leaders at the Government House in Port Harcourt on Monday.
The governor in a statement issued by his special assistant on media Kelvin Ebiri described Rivers as the most accommodating state for all Nigerians, noting that there has never been any historical incident of different ethnic groups clashing in the state.
“We can never be against any ethnic group. We can never do that. We have lived in harmony with the Igbos, the Hausas, and Edo people. Everybody that comes to this state we have lived in harmony with. So Nigerians must commend Rivers State as a place where you have never had a problem between this group and that group,” he said.
Wike maintained that while the people of Rivers State believe in the unity of the country, they would not allow IPOB to continue to threaten the stability of the state.
“Go to Oyigbo and see what they have done. They destroyed the court. What did the court do? See the soldiers they killed and burnt them. See the policemen they killed and burnt them and then you said people will sit and fold their arms?” he asked.
Wike called for vigilance and warned IPOB members not to delude themselves because Rivers would not be annexed by any group while he is still governor.
