ODAHIEKWU OGUNDE, Yenagoa
The government of Bayelsa State has vowed to wield the big stick on any paramount ruler who fails to accept responsibility for communal crisis that threaten peaceful coexistence in their domains.
The Deputy Governor of the state, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, gave the warning at his office in Yenagoa while receiving a report from the Ad hoc Committee on the Investigation and Resolution of the Dispute between Korokorosei and Ondewari communities in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area.
Ewhrudjakpo insisted that the government would not hesitate to take disciplinary action against community leaders and traditional rulers that refused to live above board.
He cited the recent case of the deposed paramount ruler of Otuokpoti community in the Ogbia area as an example of what would befall any errant monarchs in the state.
He made it clear that the government would not tolerate any instance of community leaders making themselves canon fodder to fuel and exacerbate inter-communal crises.
He specifically called on the Amananaowei of Ondewari community and his Korokorosei counterpart to demonstrate sincerity by upholding the truth to enable the government resolve their differences amicably for the sake of peace.
Commenting on the seized chainsaw and missing pieces of timber, which was alleged to be the immediate cause of crisis, he however declared that government would not pay a dime to any of the two communities to avoid setting a bad precedent.
Noting that there is always a price to pay for not doing what is right, Ewhrudjakpo directed that the Korokorosei community should replace the chain saw, while Ondewari should pay for the planks.
Submitting the report on behalf of the Ad hoc Committee, the Chairman, Chief Macdonald Igbadiwe, observed that the alleged acts were carried out by people from both communities as reprisal actions over a disputed land.
Igbadiwe, who is the member representing Southern Ijaw Constituency Four (4) in the State House of Assembly, said the committee, among other things, had recommended the signing of a peace pact between Korokorosei and Ondewari communities to restore lasting peace in the area.