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Civil society organisations (CSOs), women’s advocacy groups and activists on Tuesday stormed Abuja, demanding the immediate reinstatement of the Chairman of Sagbama Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, Hon. Alice Tangi Allen.
Allen, the lone female council chairman, was removed by the Bayelsa State House of Assembly over allegations of gross misconduct, despite a court order halting any action against her.
The protesters included members of the Aju Morgan Elumelu Foundation, in collaboration with other CSOs and women’s advocacy groups under the Women for 35% initiative, who were armed with placards bearing inscriptions such as “Respect the mandate, stop the intimidation,” “Alice Allen remains our elected Bayelsa Sagbama LGA Chairman,” “Secret swearing-in is null and void in Bayelsa Sagbama LGA,” and “Bayelsa Sagbama LGA decided, you cannot overrule,” and demanded that Allen be restored to office.
The protesters described Allen’s removal as an injustice and an attack on democracy, women’s participation in political leadership and the mandate given to her by the people of Sagbama.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Aju Morgan Elumelu Foundation, Aju Elumelu, in a press conference, said the campaign was not about partisan politics but about protecting women’s right to participate meaningfully in political leadership.
She noted that Allen was the only elected female local government chairman in Bayelsa State and only the second woman to have occupied the position in the state’s history.
Elumelu, who stated that any allegations against Allen should be investigated in line with due process, added that “when a woman wins an election, her mandate must be respected.”
Elumelu further expressed concern over reports that Allen was pressured to defect from her political party or faced removal for refusing to do so.
“If an elected woman was pressured to defect from her political party to another party or face impeachment, then every Nigerian who believes in democracy should be concerned,” she said.
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Elumelu further called for respect for court orders and cautioned against the use of security agencies to intimidate elected officials, saying, “Security agencies should protect democracy, not become instruments of political intimidation.”
Also lending her voice to the campaign, Ambassador Dr. Nana Aisha Mahmoud, DNC of the Young Progressives Party (YPP), expressed solidarity with the protesters, stressing that the issue went beyond party politics and concerned democracy, the rule of law and women’s participation in political leadership.
She called for Allen’s immediate reinstatement, insisting that elected officials should not be removed because of their political convictions or refusal to succumb to political pressure.
Speaking at the event, Allen explained that she was removed from office because she refused to defect from the Peoples Democratic Party following the political realignment in Bayelsa State.
“Not because I committed a crime, not because I did anything wrong. It is just because I don’t want to defect to another political party,” she said.
Allen also stated that her removal was carried out despite a court order and that she was removed during a midnight exercise involving security personnel.
“When people get their restraining order, they went ahead and still removed me from office,” she alleged.
