Bayelsa to review chieftaincy, community administration law

Bayelsa State Government has announced plans to review its chieftaincy, community and administration law to enable traditional rulers to contribute more effectively to good governance and development of their domains.

Deputy Governor, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, who disclosed this at a meeting with traditional rulers in Southern Ijaw Council, said the review was necessitated by the need to promote peace and development in the communities.

A statement by his Senior Special Assistant, Doubara Atasi, quoted the Deputy Governor as saying that there were some lapses that needed to be addressed in the current chieftaincy and community administration law.

Ewhrudjakpo, assured the people of Southern Ijaw and other communities that government was concerned about their welfare and would do everything possible to ensure that they got their due from government and companies operating in their areas.

He charged traditional rulers to identify basic social amenities needed in their areas and send their requests to his office for government to take necessary action within the limits of available resources.

He also stressed the need for communities to involve government in the preparation and signing of Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMOUs) with companies operating in their areas to avoid the problems usually associated with the implementation of such agreements.

Ewhrudjakpo frowned on the situation where GMOUs were signed without government’s involvement, only to be brought to its attention when conflicts arise.

As part of efforts to secure the communities, he also urged the traditional rulers to provide registers for visitors to provide their identity and purpose of visit to communities for easy monitoring.

He noted that the administration’s prosperity agenda would be impactful only in an atmosphere of peace and security, and therefore, urged cooperation between government and traditional rulers to enhance security in the state.

Ewhrudjakpo pledged to make the meeting with the traditional rulers on council-by-council basis more regular to brainstorm on peaceful coexistence and community development.

“As a government, we assure our people that our communities are paramount to us and we will always protect them. When we cooperate, we can achieve success together.

“Going forward, we will look at ways we can work together that will be mutually beneficial to the communities and state government. One issue causing problems in our communities is poor implementation of GMoUs by oil companies,” he said.