July 31, (THEWILL) — A political crisis is currently brewing over the decision by the Bayelsa state Governor, Senator Douye Diri, to relocate the original headquarters of Toru-Abobou Rural Development Area (RDA) from Elemebiri Community to Agbere Community in the present Sagbama council area of the State.
In a well-attended world press briefing held at Delight Plaza Journalists’ hangout at Imgbi road, Amarata in the state capital, Mr Ebi Ozegbe, Publisher of The Light Newspaper, a foremost Yenagoa-based local tabloid, expressed shock on hearing on the radio, the name of Agbere Community being mentioned as the headquarters of Toru-Abobou RDA as against Elemebiri, which is the legally recognised headquarters.
The publisher recalled that the first civilian Governor of Bayelsa state, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha of blessed memory, out of his love for grassroots development, created an additional 24 RDAs through legislative backing from the Bayelsa state house of assembly to complement the original 8 LGAs recognised by the federal government.
Ozegbe, popularly called the Jagaban of the NUJ Bayelsa state Council, pointed out that he was perplexed that during
the South-South Centre Public Hearing of the House of Representatives Committee on Constitution Review, led by its Chairman, Professor Julius Ihonbvere, held in Yenagoa, the state governor unilaterally presented the name of Agbere community to the House committee as the headquarters of Toru-Abobou RDA instead of Elemebiri without any stakeholders’ consultative meeting or recourse to the law establishing the RDAs.
He wondered that Governor Diri, who is a product of the rule of law, could take a decision that negates the extant laws of Bayelsa state to the detriment of a particular region of the state, alleging political manipulation.
Going down memory lane, Mr Ozegbe, who is also a native of Elemebiri Community, recalled that before the creation of the RDAs, late governor Alamieyeseigha consulted widely before arriving at the location of each headquarters, adding that Elemebiri was carefully selected to be the headquarters of Toru-Abobou RDA for a number of cogent reasons.
One of the reasons, he said, was the strategic location of Elemebiri being the last Ijaw speaking community bordering Rivers and Bayelsa states in that axis as well as its commercial value being a market centre that attracts businessmen from as far as Onitsha, Anambra state, Omoku in Rivers state and other places thereby contributing immensely to the state’s internally generated revenue.
He added that Elemebiri was also a favourite for a local council headquarters, being an oil-producing community, noting that the security that comes with a council headquarters would be of advantage to the safety of oil facilities in the area.
The Elemebiri-born journalist and publisher pointed out that there was no justification to relocate an RDA Headquarters with Secretariat and other families built with taxpayers’ money on ground.
Speaking further, Ozegbe called on traditional rulers, chiefs, men and women groups as well as the youths of Kabowei Kingdom to rise against what he described as political injustice and oppression, noting that it would be a slap of Kabowei people if they allowed the only proposed council headquarters in their area to be taken by Agbere that belongs to Tarakri Clan that has their RDA Headquarters in one of their communities.
While calling on the House constitution review committee to disregard any other name sent to it as Toru-Abobou headquarters other than Elemebiri, the publisher called on Governor Diri to use his good office to reverse the relocation of Toru-Abobou headquarters from Agbere to its original place, Elemebiri.
The publisher added that he would be left with no other option than to consult with other stakeholders of Kabowei Kingdom to seek legal redress if the ugly development is not addressed.
Amos Okioma is a Correspondent at THEWILL
