…Says Ban on Ogbia Brotherhood Election Is For Peace, Progress
From Kenechukwu Obiajuru, Yenagoa
The Bayelsa State Government has said its ban on the election of officers to pilot the affairs of Ogbia Brotherhood, an umbrella socio-cultural organization of the Ogbia people in the state, was informed by a compelling need to forestall the breakdown of law and order in the area.
The state Deputy Governor, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, made this known while interacting with some aggrieved women, under the auspices of Concerned Daughters of Ogbia, at his office in Government House, Yenagoa, on Tuesday.
Senator Ewhrudjakpo, in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Mr Doubara Atasi, explained that government took the decision based on disturbing security reports concerning the Ogbia Brotherhood elections and in the best interests of the people.
His words: “It was out of security concern that the state government placed the ban on that election. The report you see or hear most time is different from what the Governor receives.
“The Governor receives security reports everyday as to what is going on anywhere in the state. Some of the things happening in your place that you don’t know, the governor is very much aware of them. So it was in the best interest of our people in Ogbia that we took that decision.
“We felt that if we don’t manage it (the security concern) properly, it will become a serious crisis for us. The point is that what causes serious problems in communities are usually little things that people undermine.”
He stressed the need for the Ogbia people to be united and avoid any action that will tarnish the good image of their son, the former President of Nigeria, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, who is respected the world over.
The Deputy Governor assured that the Governor Douye Diri-led administration would continue to venerate Dr Jonathan and ensure that peace and development thrive in Ogbia and other areas of the state.
Senator Ewhrudjakpo, who highlighted some completed and ongoing projects in the Ogbia area, including the Onuebum-Otuoke Road and the Ayama-Ogbia/Okodi Road, promised that government would soon lift the ban and provide an enabling environment for the election of a new Ogbia Brotherhood leadership.
In their separate remarks, the Women Leader, Mrs Blessing Igbuasi and Public Relations Officer, Mrs Ada Joan, of the Concerned Daughters of Ogbia, said they embarked on a peaceful protest to draw government’s attention to the growing disunity in the area due to the absence of a substantive leadership of the Ogbia Brotherhood.
Also speaking, the Women Leader of Grassroots Mobilization Initiative (GMI), Miss Odo Esther, condemned the alleged high-handedness of some police operatives in their bid to stop the peaceful protest.
The women representatives pleaded with the state government to lift the ban on the Ogbia Brotherhood elections and set machinery in place to conduct the elections in no distant time.
The Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Nimibofa Ayawei, Chief of Staff to the Governor, Mr Irorodamie Komonibo, his deputy governor counterpart, Comrade Gowon Toruyouyei, Commissioner for Science and Technology, Hon. Gibson Munalayefa, the Chairman of Ogbia Local Government Area, Hon. Golden Jeremiah, among other top government officials attended the meeting
