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Bayelsa Urges Councils To Set Up Vigilante Teams
The Bayelsa State Government has directed local government councils to set up credible vigilante teams in every community in their areas to work closely with the police and other security agencies in the state.
The state deputy Governor, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo gave the directive at separate meetings with traditional rulers from Kolokuma/Opokuma and Yenagoa Local Government Areas in Government House, Yenagoa.
A statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the Deputy Governor on Media, Mr Doubara Atasi, said the expanded meeting had in attendance service commanders together with House of Assembly members, Commissioners and chairmen from the two local government areas.
The statement quoted the Deputy Governor as restating the present administration’s zero tolerance stance on cultism, banditry, kidnapping and other criminal activities in the state.
While assuring the councils of the state government’s assistance towards strengthening community-based vigilante groups in the fight against crime and criminality, Senator Ewhrudjakpo called on the police to properly profile members of such groups to check sabotage.
He said necessary modalities would be worked out with the councils to maintain the vigilantes across the eight local government areas in the state.
The deputy governor also said government had set in motion the machinery to revamp and relaunch its Operation Doo Akpo security outfit to fight crime and insecurity.
He called on the traditional rulers and other community leaders to cooperate with security agencies as well as start the implementation of government’s directive on profiling of visitors and nonindigenes in their communities.
”This meeting is to appraise the security situation in our communities and discuss how we can strengthen our security machinery. That is why all the service commanders including the Commissioner of Police are here.
“All hands must be on deck to build a safe and stable Bayelsa State. From this September, we want you to fully comply with the Bayelsa State Government’s directive to register all strangers coming into your communities.
“On our part as a government, we are ready and will continue to defend our zero tolerance towards cultism, armed robbery, kidnapping and other forms of crimes.
“The Governor and I never came into office aided by cultists and criminals. So we are ready to fight them with God and every other means at our disposal. They had better change or leave Bayelsa for elsewhere.
“The police and other security agencies should step up their game. Come every community including my own Ofoni Community to get rid of those criminal elements”, the Deputy Governor said.
In their separate remarks, the monarchs of Kolokuma and Opokuma Kingdoms, King Mozi Onya Agara and King Collins Aranka, commended the state government for giving traditional rulers a sense of belonging in the governance of the state.
King Aranka, however, decried the total absence of police presence in the entire Opokuma clan and requested the urgent establishment of a police post in the area.
Also speaking, the Amananaowei of Sabagreia Community, His Royal Highness, Sir Boukumo Orukari, appealed to government and the security agencies to establish a military checkpoint along the Igbedi Creek, which he identified as a notorious route for kidnapping.
On their part, the Ibenanaowei of Gbarain Kingdom, King Funpere Akah, and the Obenibe of Epie, King Malla Sasime, called for effective implementation of the state anti-cultism law to ensure the prosecution of arrested cultists.
While saluting the efforts of the various security agencies in the state, they however urged them to do more in policing the Yenagoa metropolis.
In their separate submissions, the service commanders including the State Commissioner of Police, CP Echeng Echeng, spelt out the dangers of harbouring criminals and urged the traditional rulers to always avail them with timely and actionable intelligence.
CP Echeng assured that a number of measures would be taken to streamline the operations of vigilante groups in the state in line with extant best practices in community policing.
Other service commanders who also spoke and gave their phone numbers to the traditional rulers include the Commander, Nigerian Army 16 Brigade, Brigadier General Olurotimi Awolo, the Commander, Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Soroh Yenagoa, Commodore Patrick Effah, Commander, Sector Two, Operation Delta Safe, Colonel Yahaya Ibrahim and the state Commandant, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, Mr Kupi Bako.
By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells,
President Bola Tinubu has approved the nomination of four new members to the Governing Council of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, in a statement yesterday, said the appointment is to fill existing vacancies and strengthen the board’s capacity.
The statement said the approved nominees are Mr. Olusegun Omosehin of the National Insurance Commission and Engr. Wole Ogunsanya of the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria.
Tinubu also endorsed the nomination of Sam Onyechi, who represents the Nigerian Content Consultative Forum and Barrister Owei Oyanbo from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
The President encouraged the new members to leverage their expertise and dedication to enhance local content development within Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
It added, “The nominations arose from the exit of previous institutional representatives from the Governing Council.
“The NCDMB Governing Council, established under Section 69 of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, 2010, comprises representatives from key institutions.
“These include the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria, the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria, the Nigerian Content Consultative Forum, and the National Insurance Commission.”
The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has announced plans to construct additional hostels, rehabilitate roads, and enhance power supply in the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT).
NDDC’s Managing Director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, disclosed this during a visit to the commission’s headquarters in Port Harcourt, yesterday by a delegation from the UNIPORT’s Governing Council.
Ogbuku stated that the NDDC had committed to upgrading facilities at UNIPORT as part of efforts to foster partnership with educational institutions across the Niger Delta.
According to him, the implementation of additional projects at the university forms part of a broader strategy to improve education standards in the region.
“Aside from the construction of new hostel blocks and installation of a 300 KVA solar inverter system, the NDDC will also facilitate more projects in the university.
“The commission will also deploy its engineers to assess the condition of UNIPORT’s roads and hostels for potential rehabilitation,” he said.
Ogbuku noted that upon completion, the projects would add to various initiatives previously undertaken by the commission at the university.
“These and other projects reflect our commitment to actualising President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda in the Niger Delta region,” he added.
He reaffirmed the NDDC’s dedication to fostering development and strengthening partnerships across the region.
Earlier, Sen. Mao Ohuanbunwa, Chairman of UNIPORT’s Governing Council, who led the delegation commended the current leadership of the NDDC for its achievements in accelerating development in the Niger Delta.
He highlighted the university’s infrastructural challenges, noting that it lacked adequate facilities to accommodate its growing student population, and appealed for the NDDC’s support in addressing the shortfall.
“Currently, UNIPORT has a total student population of about 50,000, while its hostel accommodation capacity can only cater for 5,000 students.
“We therefore urge the NDDC to assist in the construction of additional hostels, improve transportation facilities, and facilitate the acquisition of gas turbines to enhance power supply for our students,” Ohuanbunwa pleaded.
The Vice Chancellor of UNIPORT, Prof. Owunari Georgewill, commended NDDC for its impactful projects across the Niger Delta and extended an invitation to the commission to participate in the institution’s forthcoming 50th anniversary celebrations.
The Senate has rejected a motion to rename the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) headquarters after the former chairman of the defunct National Electoral Commission, late Prof Humphrey Nwosu.
Nwosu presided over the June 12, 1993, presidential election, which was truncated by the former military President, General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd).
The election which was won by the late business mogul, Chief MKO Abiola, was adjudged to be the freest and fairest in the electoral history of Nigeria.
The motion to rename INEC after Nwosu was re-sponsored by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe yesterday after lawmakers threw it out last Wednesday.
Abaribe called for posthumous national honours to be conferred on Nwosu in recognition of his role in Nigeria’s democratic evolution.
However, the proposal sparked a heated debate once again, with lawmakers deeply divided over Nwosu’s legacy.
Senator Osita Ngwu acknowledged that Nwosu operated under a military regime, which restricted his ability to announce the results.
He argued that “there was no way he would have announced the results with a gun to his head. That doesn’t change the fact that some of us see him as a hero.”
Senator Austin Akobundu, however, described it as most uncharitable for lawmakers to dismiss Nwosu’s contributions, insisting that he deserved a place in Nigeria’s hall of honour.
On the other hand, several senators like Senator Jimoh Ibrahim dismissed the idea outright, questioning why the Senate should honour someone who failed to announce the results insisting that “nothing should be named after him”.
Senator Cyril Fasuyi argued that history does not reward efforts, but only results.
“As long as he did not announce the result, whether under duress or not, I am against naming INEC headquarters after him,” he submitted.
Also, Senator Sunday Karimi criticised Nwosu for lacking the courage to speak out, while Senator Afolabi Salisu warned that immortalising him would undermine the memory of MKO Abiola, the widely accepted winner of the June 12, 1993, annulled election.
“Any attempt to do anything beyond a one-minute silence is to rubbish Abiola’s legacy,” he tendered.
After intense deliberation, most senators rejected the motion through a voice vote.
They, however, agreed to honour him with a one-minute silence and extend condolences to his family, effectively dismissing the other prayers to immortalise Nwosu.