Niger Delta
Bayelsa Urges Monarchs To Profile Non-Indigenes
Bayelsa State Government has said, traditional rulers who fail to open registers to profile visitors and non-indigenes engaged in business and other socio-economic activities in their areas, may face the wrath of the law.
The state’s Deputy Governor, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, dropped the hint at the second round of local government by local government meetings with traditional rulers across the state, beginning with Ekeremor Council Area in his office in Yenagoa.
Senator Ewhrudjakpo, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Mr Doubara Atasi, explained that the state government had earlier directed the traditional rulers to carry out the profiling in its previous meetings with them in which securty topped the agenda.
Making reference to a recent policy announcement by the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno, he maintained that the issue of profiling had become compulsory in view of the current security situation in the country.
The deputy governor, described the situation where most communities in Bayelsa State do not know the number and kinds of people carrying out all sorts of activities in their forests, farmlands and rivers, as “no longer acceptable to government.”
Senator Ewhrudjakpo, who lamented that Bayelsans had left their traditional fishing and farming occupations to strangers, reiterated his call on the royal fathers to expedite action on the opening of registers and close monitoring of visitors in their various communities.
He also expressed deep concern about recent violent activities in some communities in Ekeremor Local Government Area due to unnecessary chieftaincy tussles and dispute over the chairmanship of cluster boards and community development committees (CDC).
The deputy governor urged traditional rulers to reside in their communities as the custodians of peace and play a neutral role in CDC and other community elections in order to earn and sustain the respect of their subjects.
“In our previous meeting, we took time to explain the policy thrust of government on security. We told you that communities will now do what we call profiling of visitors. We will be happy if you inform us in this meeting what each of you have done in that respect. We are going to follow up our directive now. So, you must cooperate with government to secure our communities because as you all know, security is a collective responsibility”, he said.
“Only last month, the National Security Adviser had written and announced that it is now compulsory for all traditional rulers in their communities to have a book to register visitors that come to their communities and what they came to do.You can see that what we discussed at the last meeting was preemptive of that announcement and the action the Federal Government is taking now. It means, we are on the right course.
“We will appreciate if you expedite it, because we need to know who is coming to farm, fish, or do any other business in our communities. Unfortunately, we have left all our traditional occupations to strangers to do, and now, we buy fish from strangers who have taken over our rivers and fishing ports, “ he added.
In their separate remarks, the Deputy Speaker of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Hon. Michael Ogbere, and the Chairman, House Committee on Youth and Sports, Hon. Tari Porri, expressed concern over the rising tide of piracy in the area and called on the traditional rulers to provide useful information to the security agencies to curb the menace.
Also speaking, the Commissioner for Local Government Administration, Chief Thompson Amule, enjoined the royal fathers to always be on the same page with government to promote unity and peaceful coexistence in their communities.
In his contribution, the new Commissioner of Police, Bayelsa State, CP Echeng Eworo Echeng, promised to strengthen community policing and urged community leaders and their people to provide useful intelligence to the police for prompt response and action.
On their part, the traditional rulers including the Amananaowei of Ekeremor Town, King Agbodo Gbaseimo and the Regent of Oporomor Kingdom, Chief Mitin Tamaramieyefa, thanked the Deputy Governor for fulfilling his promise of meeting with traditional rulers before the end of the year.
While stressing the need for constant engagement and according more recognition to all levels of the traditional institution, they assured government of their preparedness to comply with the directive on profiling and other programmes to promote security in their communities.
By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
Dufugha, however, expressed resentment over what he described as stringent measures against assessing the State’s Students Loan Scheme, especially for the common citizens.
He made the observations while briefing journalists at the Earliest Ikoli Press Centre, Ekeki, in Yenagoa, the State capital.
“I commend the Governor for the relative peace in the state owing to his approach to the security of lives and properties in the State.
“For now, the police in Bayelsa State is using drones to monitor red flag areas that can cause security breaches and that has really encouraged the peace in the State.
“The security situation has improved and we commend the government for that. We cannot deny the fact that there is relative peace in the State”, he said.
On the State’s students loan, the publisher accused the scheme of having elitist posture due to its accessibility process.
He argued that it would be difficult for the ordinary Bayelsan to provide a Level-17 civil servant as guarantor to be able to benefit from the scheme, describing it as a systemic denial of the less privileged.
He noted that the loan was supposed to be a succour to indigent Bayelsa parents and students who could not assess education easily, noting that such persons should not be made to face cumbersome situations before assessing the financial instrument.
On road infrastructure, the Niger Delta Herald Publisher and Editor-in-chief praised the Diri’s administration on the work done on the three senatorial district roads and tasked the government to do more.
Dufugha, who described Bayelsa State as a wealthy State, asserted that the oil rich state needed to see more developmental strides comparative to its current financial status.
“Bayelsa is not a poor state in terms of public revenue. We’re an oil producing state. We receive federal allocations. We receive derivation revenue. We have access to enormous public resources.
“We receive interventions. Yet, after all these years, the ordinary citizen is still asking, what exactly are we getting for our money? Where are the industries? Where are the jobs? Where are the functional health institutions? Where is the agricultural transformation? Where is the human capital development? Where is the economic diversification?,” he argued.
He enjoined the government to redouble effort in the education and health subsectors, adding that it would pay the state a lot if there were centres for the treatment of critical health cases such as cancer and others in order to save lives and avoid capital flight.
The Publisher urged the Senator Diri-led government and the public not to misunderstand his message as hatred or personal issues with the Governor, but see it as a constitutional and professional duty to hold government accountable.
By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
Deputy Governor of the State, Dr. Peter Akpe, stated this rexently when he received the Resident Anti-Corruption Commissioner of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in ernment House, Yenagoa.
charge of Bayelsa and Rivers States, during a courtesy visit to Government House, Yenagoa.
Akpe said the general perception of those in politics has always been that of corruption, but noted that the position of the Douye Diri-led Prosperity Administration is non-tolerance for corruption.
Akpe, who frowned at the habit of writing unfounded petitions against individuals and groups, said the heap of petition files from Bayelsa State at the ICPC was several times higher than that from any other state in the country.
He reminded residents that writing unjustifiable petitions to anti-graft agencies is not only a bad culture, but also attracts jail penalty, and assured the ICPC of the state government’s support to improve public enlightenment.
“Our government is a government that believes in zero tolerance for corruption; that is why we are always open to interact with you and other anti-graft agencies.
“Usually, there is this issue of negative perception of politics and politicians. But it is not true that every politician is corrupt. We have a good number of people in politics that are not corrupt, and we believe that a good percentage of them are in this government.
“The issue of petitions at the ICPC: What we observed was that the heap of files from Bayelsa were 10 times higher than the ones from even Lagos, and 15 more times than the ones from Sokoto and other states.
“That is quite disturbing. More so, most of those petitions were ion, our people should also know that such frivolous petitions can land them in jail”, he saidfrivolous.
From a personal experience, I can tell you that most of the petitions are extremely frivolous. While we will never tolerate corruption, our people should also know that such frivolous petitions can land them in jail”, he said.
Earlier in her remarks, the ICPC Resident Anti-Corruption Commissioner in charge of Rivers and Bayelsa States, Dr. Ekere Usiere, highlighted the statutory mandate of the ICPC, stressing that its mission was to carry out sensitisation on the ills of corruption in the Nigerian society.
Usiere, who expressed concern at the volume of petitions currently before the ICPC emanating from communities in Bayelsa over the management of the PIA funds, expressed the commission’s desire to partner the Bayelsa State Ministry of Information to carry out sensitisation programmes.
The ICPC Resident Anti-Corruption Commissioner was accompanied on the visit by Assistant Chief Superintendent, Mr. Evans Peters; Principal Superintendent, Mr. Emmanuel Akpor; Assistant Superintendent, Mrs. Tamaraudoubra Ebebi; and the Administrative Officer, Mr. Frank Yileaziba.
By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
The Director of Administration and Human Resources, Sir Kelechi Nwelue, gave the advice during a commission-wide staff interactive session with Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) and insurance companies at the NDDC headquarters in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
In a statement signed and issued by Seledi Thompson-Wakama
Director, Corporate Affairs, Nwelue said the programme, approved by the Managing Director of the commission, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, was organised to sensitise staff on pension schemes and provide them with the knowledge required to make informed decisions about their retirement savings.
He particularly urged newly recruited employees to acquaint themselves with the operations and responsibilities of various PFAs before choosing an administrator to manage their pension contributions.
According to him, pension contributions deducted from employees’ salaries, alongside employers’ contributions, constitute long-term savings designed to provide financial support after retirement.
He urged staff to carefully assess the information provided by the participating pension administrators and choose the option best suited to their long-term financial interests.
Nwelue stressed that employees were at liberty to select their preferred pension administrator, noting that the interactive session provided an opportunity for the various companies to explain their products, services and benefits.
Also speaking, a Director in the Directorate of Administration and Human Resources, Mr. James Fole, said the programme was aimed at deepening employees’ understanding of pension, insurance and other financial instruments that could improve their financial wellbeing during and after active service.
Fole warned that inadequate preparation for retirement could expose employees to financial hardship in their post-service years.
He said: “That is not what the Managing Director, Executive Management and the entire management want for our staff. We want to see a situation where retirees enjoy a reasonable level of comfort, knowing that the Commission has contributed to their future.”
He added that equipping employees with appropriate financial knowledge while they were still in active service remained critical to achieving a financially secure retirement.
Several pension and insurance companies participated in the interactive session.
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