- Calls for peace
From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
Bayelsa Governor Douye Diri has received a report from the implementation committee of the Nembe-Bassambiri impasse, in his office, Government House, Yenagoa.
Nembe- Bassambiri has been engulfed in crisis from the early part of 2023 following an attack on the community which led to the death of some persons and subsequent chaos in the community prompting the Bayelsa State Government tot set up a Judicial Panel of Inquiry to look into the crisis and come up with solutions.
Diri who had received a report of the Judicial Panel of Enquiry on January 19th Governor had immediately set up an implementation committee headed by the immediate past Secretary to State Government, Alabo Gideon Ekeuwei.
While receiving the report, Governor Diri assured of full implementation stating that peace is sine qua non for development in any State.
He called on the people of Nembe-Bassambiri to give peace a chance stressing that it is the only price for Nembe-Bassambiri to be included in the development of the state.
“It is a thing of joy that you worked tirelessly and today we have the implementation committee report even followed it up with an official gazette of the Bayelsa State government.
“So, thank you, I appreciate you for working assiduously to ensure that our state remains peaceful in all of our Local Government Areas particularly, in Nembe-Bassambiri.
‘’And as I have said over and over, peace is priceless, peace is the sine qua non for development. Where there is no peace, there is no development and vice versa. So, I want to appreciate you and just as we swiftly set up this committee, again, we are going to look into the content of your report and come out with a Government white paper, a gazette on the Nembe-Bassambiri crisis which will be fully implemented and we believe that we will continue to work towards bringing peace in Nembe-Bassambiri.
‘’Let me again, call on all of us who are from Nembe-Bassambiri to again give peace a chance. We must ensure that we are our brothers’ keepers. We must ensure that Nembe-Bassambiri is not excluded from the development of our state. Nembe-Bassambiri is part and parcel of Bayelsa with the elites very educated and professionals across all sectors of life and they must be part of the story of growth, development, unity and love in our state.”