POLITICS
Bayelsa Assembly Elections: Nembe Stakeholders Demand Level-playing Field
From Mike Tayese, Yenagoa
Barely few hours to the House of Assembly elections holding nationwide this weekend, the Chiefs and People of Nembe Local Government Area have again been enjoined to create a level playing ground for all political parties and their candidates to ensure peaceful elections in the area.
Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, gave the advice at a meeting with the Nembe City Council of Chiefs in Government House, Yenagoa on Wednesday.
Ewhrudjakpo explained that the meeting, which had almost all the service commanders in attendance, followed a similar one held with the Leadership of Opu-Nembe on Monday this week.
He challenged the people of ancient Nembe Kingdom to proudly defend their place in history as part of the earliest people that first embraced education and civilization in sub-Saharan Africa.
“One sure way of doing this”, according to the Deputy Governor, is by promoting peace, law and order as well as pursuing their interests in an intellectual manner.
Senator Ewhrudjakpo, however, commended the Nembe City Council of Chiefs for the unprecedented peace witnessed in Nembe-Ogbolomabiri during the Presidential and National Assembly elections last month.
While pointing out that this weekend’s House of Assembly elections were more localized than the February 25th Presidential and National Assembly polls, he charged them to intensify efforts at creating an enabling environment for everyone to exercise their franchise.
Senator Ewhrudjakpo equally urged them to give maximum cooperation to the security agencies and the electoral umpire to deliver credible elections as well as engender sustainable peace and development in their area.The De
puty Governor, who described the Nembe people as one of the most civilized kingdoms in the Niger Delta region as a whole, expressed the confidence that they would replicate and sustain the peaceful disposition seen in the previous election.
“We need to thank you for the peace that was maintained during the Presidential and National Assembly Elections. I think it is quite unprecedented.
“We believe people now come out to vote and we have to commend you for this, and for ensuring that everyone freely exercised their franchise.
“The House Assembly elections are more localized, as there is no unification of interest. We expect this and it is natural. We solicit your cooperation in this area for a very peaceful outcome like we had on February 25.
“The Nembe people are among the most civilized in this part of the world, particularly in the Niger Delta region. And so, we expect that much of what you do will not be as primitive as what some other people do as people who are just coming to the light,” Ewhrudjakpo said.
In his remarks, the Alternate Chairman of the Nembe City Council of Chiefs, Chief Bright Ereware-Igbeta, pointed out that the recent peaceful election was achieved through the signing and adherence to a Peace Accord by all candidates of the various political parties in the area.
Chief Ereware-Igbeta, however, expressed concerns over recurring unwarranted deliberate provocations and threats to peaceful coexistence in the area allegedly being orchestrated by youths from a neighbouring community.
He, therefore, called on government to beef up security in and around Nembe City ahead of Saturday’s elections, with a security checkpoint stationed at the Nembe Unity bridge to checkmate unusual movement of persons with criminal intentions into the community.
The Senate on Tuesday confirmed the appointment of Dr Nnanna Uzor Kalu as a commissioner in the National Assembly Service Commission (NASC) to represent the South-East geopolitical zone.
The confirmation followed the presentation and adoption of the report of the Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service, chaired by Sen.
Cyril Fasuyi, during plenary.Kalu’s confirmation was previously stepped down in March due to a petition filed against him.
At the time, the senate had confirmed 12 out of 13 nominees for the NASC, withholding only the nomination from the South-East pending resolution of the matter.
Presenting the report, Fasuyi explained that the petition had been thoroughly investigated and dismissed by the Senate Committee on Ethics, Code of Conduct and Public Petitions.
The committee found no grounds to disqualify the nominee.
“In line with the findings and recommendations of the relevant committees, the Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service recommends the confirmation of Dr Nnanna Uzor Kalu,” Fasuyi said.
In his remarks, Senate President Godswill Akpabio thanked both committees for handling the issue with diligence and fairness.
He congratulated Kalu on his confirmation and urged him to serve with integrity.
“I urge the newly confirmed commissioner to uphold equity, fairness, and constitutional values while representing the South-East in the commission,” Akpabio said.(NAN)
The Zamfara chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has condemned the calls for violence by the State Women Leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Hajiya Rabi Madawaki.
In a statement issued in Gusau on Tuesday by the State APC Publicity Secretary, Yusuf Idris, the party called on security agencies to thoroughly investigate the matter.
Idris said, “We call on the security agencies to immediately arrest the women leader, Hajiya Rabi Madawaki, over her uncultured utterances.
.“APC as a strong opposition party in the state will not be intimidated by any threats from the Zamfara PDP government and they should know that the will of the people must prevail.
“The state PDP Women Leader, Hajiya Rabi Madawaki, made the statement in the presence of the Governor’s wife, Hajiya Huriyya Dauda.
“The threat and intimidation by the PDP women leader came out with a completely different but savage way of forcing out support and subsequently, votes for the governor, Mr Dauda Lawal in the 2027 governorship election.
“Madawaki said in the presence of governor’s wife in Hausa language, at a gathering held in Gusau on Friday that translated as ‘anyone who does not vote for Dauda, we will maim, beat, kill him, (zamu ci ubanshi zamu yi mashi duka)’.
According to him, in a civilised scoiety, elections are always supposed to be free, fair and non violent.
Idris said, “President Bola Tinubu’s administration is trying to remove such threats to lives and property as well as any form of intimidation from politics.
“The Zamfara chapter of the APC will not be scared by any form of intimidation and harassment or any act of violence.” (NAN)
From Mike Tayese, Yenagoa
A Youth Leader from Bayelsa West Senatorial District, Alhaji Letugbene has called on stakeholders in Ekeremor and Sagbama Local Government Areas of Bayelsa State to close ranks and work together to return the Senator representing Bayelsa West Senatorial District, Seriake Dickson to the National Assembly come 2027.
Letugbene, who made the call recently said, Senator Dickson has performed creditably since he was elected and should be supported by all to continue his good work in the Senate, as there is no doubt in his political experience and leadership abilities and competence. He particularly, appealed to the stakeholders and people of Ekeremor to rally round Senator Dickson because he remains the only and best option for the people of Bayelsa West who are clamouring for true representation.”I want to call on my people in Ekeremor to join us to work together to return Senator Seriake Dickson back to the Senate in 2027.He has done well since he was elected and I’m convinced he will even do better for us” he said.According to him, Senator Dickson deserves the support of Ekeremor because he has impacted every community, noting that as a two-term governor, he cited several key projects in the LGA and appointed sons and daughters into key positions of trust, while as a federal lawmaker, he continues to impact the people positively.Letugbene, who is the National Vice Chairman of the Third Phase of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), also asserted, that Senator Dickson has taken the gauntlet left by the late Ijaw leader, Pa Edwin Clark, to face fire for the Ijaw Nation when it mattered most, noting that he stood his ground against intimidation and oppression to speak truth to power when issues affecting his people are on the front burner in the Red Chamber.He said Senator Dickson has remained vocal, courageous and fearless in the National Assembly, condemning the marginalization and oppression of the Ijaw Nation as well as other ethnic nationalities in the Niger Delta, while demanding equity, fairness and justice for the people.Letugbene, however, bemoaned the actions of a few misguided stakeholders from Ekeremor who are whipping up sentiments against Senator Dickson through propaganda and claims that Sagbama is marginalizing Ekeremor over the Senate seat, urging them not to spread falsehood as the zoning formula in the area no longer existed and that anyone is free from either LGAs to contest the Senate and House of Representatives election in 2027.The ex-agitator, who passed a ‘vote of confidence’ on Senator Dickson, also enjoined beneficiaries of the Presidential Amnesty Programme from Ekeremor LGA to support the federal lawmaker because of his assertive and unwavering commitment to the upliftment and betterment of Bayelsa West, the Ijaw people and the Niger Delta in the Nigerian Federation.
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