Bayelsa Govt. reads riot act to Council of Chiefs, sets up committee

The Bayelsa Government has given members of the Odioma Council of Chiefs in the Brass Local Government Area (LGA) the option to either withdraw their membership in political parties or resign outright from the traditional leadership council.

This is even as the state government constitutes a six-man peace and reconciliation committee to look into the immediate and remote causes of the communal unrest and insecurity threatening the peace of the Odioma community.

Gov. Douye Diri of Bayelsa gave the order on Tuesday at an enlarged meeting with the chairman and members of the Odioma Council of Chiefs and other critical stakeholders of Odioma in Government House, Yenagoa.

The Supreme reports that the governor, represented by his deputy, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, said his administration would not tolerate the breakdown of law and order in Odioma or any other community in the state.

He advised them to live together in peace and avoid actions capable of causing a recurrence of the 2005 experience, in which federal military troops invaded and destroyed Odioma.

He stressed the need for Odioma Chiefs to remain apolitical and be more proactive in addressing critical communal issues.

He therefore warned that, henceforth, members of the Odioma Council of Chiefs who belong to any political party should either resign from the council or withdraw their political party membership to enable them to lead the people without divided interests.

His statement read: "Under our watch, we cannot allow history to repeat itself at Odioma, because we all witnessed what happened there in 2005." We want to avoid a recurrence of that.

"For now, the police will remain there until we have resolved all the major issues." Secondly, the council of chiefs must be more proactive and live up to their responsibilities.

"As chiefs, you should drop your party membership card the moment you are elected a chief, because they are irreconcilable."

"So I want you, the chiefs, to know this: Once you are a member of the council, quit the political parties."

"As you are leaving here, PDP members go and resign their PDP membership; likewise, APC members go and resign their APC membership." "If you are not ready to do that, then resign from the council," he said.

The six-man Odioma Peace and Reconciliation Committee has the state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Biriyai Dambo (SAN), as Chairman, while the Special Adviser to the Governor on Security Matters, CP Akpoebi Agberebi (Rtd), is to serve as Secretary.

Other members of the committee are the member representing Brass Constituency 2 at the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Hon. Timi Omubo-Agala; the technical adviser on conflict resolution, Chief Boma Spero-Jack; the commissioner of police, CP Ben Nebolisa Okolo; and the state director of DSS.

The committee has one month to complete its assignment.