The political supremacy in Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-controlled Etche Local Government Council took a new dimension, last Monday, as the Leader of the Legislative Assembly, Hon Cynthia Nweke, escaped alleged assassination attempt on her life at Okehi, the council headquarters.
Nweke is a loyalist of a chieftain of the party, Allwell Onyesoh.
The incident, an eyewitness account said, occurred at mid-day, causing great panic and pandemonium within and around Etche LG Council Secretariat, as passers-by and staff of the council who came to work on that fateful day were seen scampering for safety.
The Tide learnt that the incident happened at the gate of the council secretariat, when the leader and some of her aides were going back to Port Harcourt after the screening of the supervisory councillors which was an official duty she and her colleagues came to the council to perform before she was attacked.
The list of the supervisors was submitted to the Legislative Assembly by the Chairman, Hon Obinna Anyanwu for confirmation and approval.
It was gathered that the councillors had been successfully sworn-in before the incident occurred.
According to an eyewitness, trouble started when the leader, who is a female, took the mace and put it into her car and was driving back to Port Harcourt after the day’s legislative business.
It was learnt that the move to take the mace along was part of an agreement with other councillors to ensure the safety of the mace in the Legislative Assembly building which was undergoing reconstruction.
But unknown to her, some thugs allegedly led by the Chief Security Officer to the council chairman, popularly called Shino, had laid ambush on her.
The source further said that immediately they sighted her vehicle coming toward the council gate, the thugs locked the gate and stopped her from leaving the council premises.
However, in an attempt to inquire what the problem was, she was rebuffed and the CSO and the array of thugs pounced on her; tore her clothes and smashed her car rear windscreen and window glasses.
The Tide gathered that video and pictures of the incident had gone viral on social media platforms since Monday with various calls on the state Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, to immediately wade in with a view to resolving the crisis bedevilling the council’s leadership in the state.
Some of the stakeholders have also urged the governor to ensure that the to inhuman treatment meted out to the leader of the Legislative Assembly was remedied and appropriate sanctions slammed on those behind the barbaric act.
When contacted on phone, the Leader of Etche Legislative Assembly, Hon Cynthia Nweke, accused the council chairman of masterminding the act, adding that she had put up a call to the chairman while the CSO and his thugs were harassing her, and the chairman promised to call the CSO to maintain the peace.
She lamented that the chairman never did.
She alleged that the CSO beat her up and tore her clothes, leaving her half-naked, adding that she took the house’s mace in order to protect it because the council secretariat was undergoing renovation.
“It was agreement with my colleagues that I should go home with the mace. There was no problem between me and the chairman. We screened all the candidates he submitted to the house, though I had before the time raised some points of observation on the submission of the list that the names should be spread across other communities rather than bringing person or persons from the same place where a councillor comes from because we shall soon go for election. We settled the matter, and we screened the candidates. So, why should CSO strip me half-naked, and uptill this moment, my chairman has not called me.
“I have reported the matter at Okehi Police Division and FIDA for necessary action”, she stated.
In his reaction, the council Chairman, Hon Obinnna Anyanwu denied sending anybody to beat the leader of the Legislative Assembly, adding that the council’s CSO only went to rescue her from the hands of her colleagues who were fighting her for carrying the mace to her private residence.

By: Amadi Akujobi