At a one day retreat organized for indigenes of Ohaji/ Egbema and Oguta, Local Government Areas has ended with a call on the stakeholders and entire indigenes of the area to join hands to promote peace and security.
Addressing the summit, Governor of the state, Emeka Ihedioha said the summit was in line with the mission and vision of his administration to rebuild the state, especially by ensuring maximum security of lives and property of the citizens.
He said he gave the deputy who is an indigene of the area free hand to handle the oil resources accruing to the area as well as address the security situation.
He urged traditional rulers and entire citizens of the area to join hands in the effort to guarantee maximum security and return peace to the area by volunteering information on criminal elements in their midst.
The Deputy Governor of the state and convener of the retreat in his speech said the summit is to find out the best way to secure the oil-producing areas of the state.
He disclosed that the government identified the area as security flashpoint and approved the summit among others measures to remedy the security situation and that the summit is expected to develop a homegrown solution to the numerous security challenges confronting the area.
“The truth is that we are not criminals, a few bad eggs as among us are making our area notorious. We will not allow these criminals to mess us up. The era of allowing a few criminal elements to intimidate and mess us up has gone for good.
Entire security Chiefs in the state delivered lectures at the summit included; the commissioner of police, Mr Rabiu Ladodo classified the challenges into economic, environmental, social, political /administrative.
He concluded that to actualize peace and security in the area, all hands must be on deck, while all concerned must shear greed, comprise, complicity, power tussle and incitement.
The Brigade commander,34 Brigade Obinze, Brigadier General Y. I Tukura posited that causes of the agitation and crisis boil down to resource control.
He said this has resulted to forming of cult groups to help their sponsors monopolize benefits from the resources and pointed out that when oil companies and government fail to provide the needed succour to oil-bearing communities, it fuels the crisis.
He suggested for stakeholders and government to bring the youths closer to government, so they feel important and responsive, while if they are treated as cast away, they feel dejected and become a renegade.
Other security Chiefs who delivered lectures on topics related to their particular line of duties included the representative of the Director of state security services (SSS), the commandant of civil Defence corps, the representative of the commander of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and the commandant of Nigerian correctional services (former prisons)
The summit finally came up with a communique on the issues raised during the interaction section of the summit while the highpoint of the summit was the commissioning of six security Hilux vans and other security gadgets by the ISOPADEC in conjunction with the state government.
BY Jennifer John
