Niger Delta
Nov 11 Poll: I Won’t Spill Blood To Retain Governorship Seat – Diri …Provides Relief Materials For Displaced Bassambiri Indigenes
Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, has vowed that he will not spill blood to retain his office ahead of the November 11 governorship election in the state.
Governor Diri made the vow at Ogbolomabiri after assessing the security situation in neighbouring Bassambiri in Nembe Local Government Area of the state last Saturday.
Men of the police Strategic Weapons and Tactical (SWAT) team and some non-state actors in military camouflage on August 12 invaded Bassambiri community on the orders of the Acting Inspector General of Police.
Some persons suffered gunshot injuries as a result of the invasion while many others were displaced.
Addressing the displaced Bassambiri indigenes at the King Koko Square at Ogbolomabiri, the governor said anyone who sacrifices the lives of the people in order to gain political power does not deserve to lead the state.
In a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, on Sunday, Diri expressed concern over the health and welfare of the displaced people, noting that every life in Bassambiri or Ogbolomabiri was important to him. He reassured them that his administration will do everything humanly possible to restore peace and order in the Nembe communities.
The Bayelsa helmsman urged leadership of the Nembe-Se Congress to do more in uniting the people, stressing that every Nembe man or woman was one and the same irrespective of lineage.
He emphasised that the absence of peace was a recipe for underdevelopment and encouraged the people to live peaceably with one another.
He said: “I will not spill one life to retain my office because every life is important to me. Anyone who wants to be governor should not sacrifice any of you to become governor.
“Bassambiri issues are either political, chieftaincy or economic. Anybody who wants oil company benefits should not sacrifice others to get payment.
“You cannot kill yourselves whether you are from Bassambiri, Ogbolomabiri, Brass, or Odioma. You are all Nembe people. You are all Ijaw people. So, I call on the Nembe-Se Congress to do more in uniting the people of Nembe. As a government, we will continue to do what we are doing to unite the people and to develop the area. That is why your government started the very big Nembe-Brass road project, which is a federal government road.”
Diri directed the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to immediately provide more relief materials for the displaced Bassambiri people.
He added that his administration’s approach to the wellbeing of the people is to provide empowerment and skills acquisition and not to equip the youths with guns in order to kill.
At Bassambiri, Governor Diri met with the leader of the SWAT team. He advised the police squad against any form of intimidation and discriminatory show of force in the community.
He also urged the team to restrict itself to protecting lives and maintaining law and order and not to delve into the politics of the area.
He equally asked the team to avoid issues bordering on chieftaincy and political squabbles in the community as well as cautioned against selective arrests.
The governor was accompanied on the visit by his deputy, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, immediate past deputy governor of the state, retired Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John-Jonah, service commanders from the Army, Navy, Air Force, the military joint task force (Operation Delta Safe), the Commissioner of Police and the Director, State Security Services as well as state legislators and other top government functionaries.
The Delta State House of Assembly has commenced public hearing on the State Human Trafficking (Prohibition) Bill, 2024.
The Tide’s source reports that the public hearing was organised by the House Committee on Housing, Women Affairs, Humanitarian Support Services and Girl Child Entrepreneurship in Asaba.
Chairman of the committee, Mrs Bridget Anyafulu, said the hearing was to provide members of the public the opportunity to offer contributions to the proposed law.
“The ultimate goal is to ensure that the state has a law that adequately answers to the challenges it seems to address and satisfy the needs and aspirations of our people and society.
“We have invited you to join us to make a law that will help to effectively address and eradicate the odious practice of human trafficking in our state.
“We know that as stakeholders, the effective participation in making this law will go a long way in enhancing the quality of the law that will finally emerge from the process”, she said.
Anyafulu assured the stakeholders that the committee would look into their suggestions and consider areas that could help to strengthen the bill as well as enhance its quality.
On her part, the State Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs, Community Support Services and Girl Child Development, Ms. Orode Uduaghan, called for the inclusion of the National Agency for the Protection of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) in the implementation process.
It also reports that Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), State Ministry of Women Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), Nigeria Immigration Service, Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), among others, were involved in the public hearing.
They commended the State Executive for initiating the bill and called for its speedy passage.
The Federal Government has handed over 24,180 bags of 50kg maize and 5,828 bags of 25kg ‘garri’ to the Akwa Ibom State Government for distribution to vulnerable households.
The Director-General, National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mrs. Zubaida Umar, made the presentation on behalf of the Federal Government in Uyo, the State Capital.
Represented by Mrs. Mmandu Aisueni, the Head, Operations, NEMA, Akwa Ibom State office, Umar said the donation was in fulfilment of President Bola Tinubu’s promise to Nigerians.
It would be recalled that the Federal Government approved the release of 42, 000 metric tonnes of assorted food items from the National Strategic Reserve to vulnerable households.
Umar said that the president’s promise was the government’s way of reducing the impact of the current economic hardship in the country.
“We are here to hand over the food items to the state government for distribution to the intended beneficiaries in the communities”, she said.
The NEMA D-G said that the food items should be shared in the communities through properly constituted committees at the local government levels.
She said membership of the local government committees should include the council chairman, representatives of the State Emergency Management Agency and the traditional institutions.
Umar said 20 per cent of the food items for each council area should be given to religious groups, and that three per cent of it should be given to boarding schools in the area.
Receiving the items, Dr Offiong Offor, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, commended the Federal Government for the intervention.
Offor said that the gesture was a demonstration of the Federal Government’s commitment to the wellbeing of the citizenry.
The commissioner promised that the state government would ensure that the items were given to the intended beneficiaries.
A group, Concerned Obidient Movement, has declared support for Mr. Asue Ighodalo, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the September 21 Edo State governorship election.
Leader of the group, Mr. Ikhuenbor Igbinevbo, told newsmen in Benin that the election transcends individual personalities.
“It is a critical moment that will shape the future of Edo. The PDP is creating a climate of renewed political energy that promises sustainable progress.
“Its candidate, Ighodalo, and the deputy, Osarodion Ogie, possess the vision and qualifications that align with the aspirations of Edo people,” he said.
Igbinevbo highlighted the candidates’ deep understanding of the State’s challenges and potential which, he said, positions them to lead the state into a new era of prosperity and responsible governance.
He urged Edo people, both at home and in the Diaspora, to unite in their support for the PDP and its candidates ahead of the election.
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