Constituents threaten to recall Bayelsa deputy speaker over communal crisis, Constituents of the Deputy Speaker, Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Mr. Michael Ogbere, in Ekeremor Local Government have threatened to recall him, if he does not stop harassing and intimidating constituted communities’ authorities.
The leadership of Egbemo-Angalabiri community, therefore, called on the lawmaker to focus on his lawmaking tasks and stop meddling in the community’s affairs if he did not want to incur the wrath of his constituents.
The community leaders accused him of sacking the legitimate leadership of the community and replacing them with his loyalists.
leadership of the community led by the acting Royal Highness of Egbemo-Angalabiri, Chief Ayakurai Gometi, appealed to Governor Douye Diri and House of Assembly Speaker Abraham Ingobere to intervene and caution the lawmaker over his meddlesomeness.
Gometi, accompanied by Chief Elkanah Seibokuro, Chief Simon Ebikebina, Chief David Atiye and other members of the Egbemo-Angalabiri Council of Chiefs, asked the lawmaker to retrace his steps and avoid actions that would tarnish the image of the legislative arm.
They said: “Some youths loyal to him have his instructions to sack all the chiefs in the community from their homes.
Constituents threaten to recall Bayelsa deputy speaker over communal crisis
“All the chiefs were asked to leave the community or face being dealt with severely. As we speak, all the houses/residences of the chiefs have been disconnected from electricity.”
Spokesman for the community leadership, Chief Elkanah Seibokuro, alleged: “Hon Michael Ogbere said he wanted to be the next Royal Highness of the Egbemo-Angalabiri community by all means necessary. Hence he has been going about harassing and intimidating the leadership of the community.
“Ogbere’s desire is to appropriate all available community positions from the youth, Community Development Committees, Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU) and the Council of Chiefs so that he can subsequently install himself as the Amananaowei (King).”
Reacting to their allegations, Ogbere said the so-called leaders that addressed the conference did not constitute the leadership of the community, as they had allegedly vacated their positions in line with the recommendations of the panel constituted by the state government.
He noted that he was not a member of the panel which investigated the crisis bedevilling Egbamo-Angalabiri, stressing that Messrs. Seibokuro, Simon and Atiye participated in the proceedings before the panel and therefore were bound by the recommendations.