Residents Hail Return Of Peace To Eleme 

Business and social activi
ties are peaking  again in Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State following efforts by the Chairman of the Caretaker Committee of the Local Government, Hon. Johnson Obele Nwogu, to restore sanity to the area.
Residents and visitors of the area, who spoke with The Tide in separate interviews, praised the CTC chairman for responding to the situation, and restoring peace and security to the area.
A resident of Aleto, Mr John Eke, who owns a provision shop, said: “Nightlife is returning and we can move about more freely now than we used to a few weeks ago.”
He said that it was unfortunate that some miscreants, who had been offered amnesty last year, had reneged on the undertaking they entered with the council, and were terrorising the people.
The CTC Chairman, Hon. Johnson Obele Nwogu, said: “This time around, we are not going to dialogue with any criminal,” promising to hunt down any criminal that had chosen not to repent and reintegrate into society.
“We are not pacifying anyone. At the beginning, we went for dialogue. It worked out. But it’s like they are used to that life. We did all our best. We offered some stipends to get them out. But we want to enforce it now. We are enforcing it. We can’t dialogue with them anymore. We will only engage those that are ready to give up negative activities,” the CTC chairman declared.
It would be recalled that the CTC chairman, had shortly after he was inaugurated for a second tenure, vowed to chase out hoodlums and cultists that had made life uncomfortable for residents of the local government area.
The Tide reports that a drive around Agbonchia, Aleto, Alesa, Alode, Ogale, Onne and Eteo showed that businesses now spend a little more hours before closing as against the situation before the return of the CTC chairman.
In the meantime, security operatives, with the support of the CTC, have been mopping up the area of criminals and cultists.

Kote Obe, Eleme