By Edu Abade
The Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Vice Admiral Ibok Ette Ibas (rtd.) has charged all stakeholders, youths and people of the state to always synergise with security agencies and the government to see to it that all critical assets and infrastructure in the state are safe and secure.
The Sole Administrator, who was represented by Rivers State Commissioner of Police (CP), Olugbenga Adewole Adepojo, made the call at Opobo during a town hall security stakeholders meeting with the people of Opobo Nkoro Council on Saturday, May 10, 2025, adding: “We are here to ensure you work in synergy with the Local Government Administrator to ensure that the infrastructures and critical assets of the government are protected.”
In a statement issued by the Information Officer, Opobo Nkoro Council, Idanye Oruigoni, the Sole Administrator urged the people and residents of the council to cooperate with the Local Government Administrator within the span of this administration to ensure improved welfare for all.
He assured the people that the government is going to attend to issues of healthcare, schools, and roads, among other welfare concerns.
The Administrator of Opobo Nkoro Council, Mr. Frederick Apiafi, who welcomed representatives of the Sole Administrator comprising heads of security agencies, some permanent secretaries and security personnel to Opobo Town for the stakeholders engagement, stressed that the timing for meeting was apt and necessary, commended those who initiated the town hall event, even as he urged everyone present at the event to be open and honest in their conversations.
Apiafi also stressed that although the Opobo Nkoro people are peaceful and peace loving, the terrain of the area presents peculiar security challenges like sea piracy, theft of fishing equipment at sea, illegal oil bunkering activities and illegal vigilante groups that operate outside the bounds of the law.
He further stated that everyone has a role to play in building a safer and more secure Opobo Nkoro Council, restating that the area allows people to go about their daily endeavours without fear of molestation.
Apiafi then canvassed greater support for the security agencies in terms of coordination and proactive surveillance and expressed the hope that the meeting will culminate in jointly crafted sustainable strategies geared towards reducing crime at the grassroots level.
The meeting, which was basically interactive in nature, has representatives of the Alapu, youths, women and other groups from Opobo and Nkoro kingdoms, who shared their genuine concerns in the area.
