Local government workers in Rivers State have backed down from their planned strike following Governor Siminalayi Fubara’s intervention in a salary dispute that had threatened to cripple council operations.
The strike was billed to begin at midnight on Tuesday, September 30, after tensions flared in Emohua Local Government Area. Council Chairman Chidi Lloyd had withheld the salaries of some staff, insisting they had not been properly verified.
The decision sparked protests along the Emohua axis of the East–West Road, raising fears of wider unrest.
To address the crisis, Governor Fubara summoned a closed-door meeting at the Government House in Port Harcourt.
Present were the leadership of the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), officials of the Local Government Service Commission, and Lloyd himself.
At the end of the talks, NULGE announced that the strike would no longer go ahead. Rivers NULGE President, Clifford Paul, explained that the Governor had given firm assurances.
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“We have resolved. His Excellency has directed that this matter will be handled harmoniously. On behalf of the State Administrative Council of NULGE, I am calling on all branch chairmen and officers to end the strike,” Paul said.
Israel Amadi, Chairman of the Rivers State Civil Service Commission, also described the meeting as constructive.
“It was a very fruitful deliberation,” he said. “The Governor has given clear directives, and we are confident that the resolutions will be implemented.”
Council Chairman Chidi Lloyd praised the Governor’s mediation, saying the standoff was about accountability, not vendettas.
“It is not personal. We just want transparency in the system, and the Governor has made that clear,” Lloyd said.
With the truce in place, local government staff are expected to return to work, while stakeholders await concrete steps to resolve the lingering salary concerns.