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– INC wades into Opu- Nembe crisis
From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, has vowed that he will not spill blood to retain his office ahead of the November 11 governorship election in the state.
This is even as the Ijaw National Congress (INC) is set to wade into the crisis that has engulfed Opu- Nembe, Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.
Addressing the displaced Bassambiri indigenes at the neighbouring King Koko Square at Ogbolomabiri, the governor said anyone who sacrifices the lives of the people in order to gain political power does not deserve to lead the state.
In a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, on Sunday, urged the leadership of the Nembe-Se Congress to do more in uniting the people, stressing that every Nembe man or woman was one and the same irrespective of lineage.
He said: “I will not spill one life to retain my office because every life is important to me. Anyone who wants to be governor should not sacrifice any of you to become governor.
“You cannot kill yourselves whether you are from Bassambiri, Ogbolomabiri, Brass, or Odioma. You are all Nembe people. You are all Ijaw people. So, I call on the Nembe-Se Congress to do more in uniting the people of Nembe.
“As a government, we will continue to do what we are doing to unite the people and to develop the area. That is why your government started the very big Nembe-Brass road project, which is a federal government road.”
Diri directed the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to immediately provide more relief materials for the displaced Bassambiri people.
During a meeting with the IGP special team in Bassambiri advised the police squad against any form of intimidation and discriminatory show of force and selective arrests in the community while also urging them not to meddle into chieftaincy and political issues.
Meanwhile the INC has expressed willingness to intervene in the Opu- Nembe crisis by calling all the parties involved to resolve the crisis. We fear that
The President of the INC, Prof Benjamin Okaba who stated this in a press conference after visiting Opu- Nembe community expressed concern that the community is under siege.
“ Ijaw nation has once again been desecrated, our blood has been spilled, our land contaminated. If the issues are not properly addressed and urgently too, we fear that it may escalate by spreading to other communities like Ogbolomabiri and other local government areas in the state. We all know and our special and peculiar Bayelsa is to the economy of the country and sustenance of peace in the Niger Delta region. We fear that if we don’t provide peace where people of all divides can return home and resume their socio-economic activities unhindered, the present uncertainties may escalate to the point where nobody can control”.
