Gov Dickson Advocates Community Administration Laws to Check Rising Cases of Impunity and Violence in Rural Areas

Governor Seriake Dickson has described the incessant breakdown of Law and Order in the rural communities of Bayelsa State as a result of the lack of community administration laws.

As a result, the new commissioner of Community Development and Chieftaincy Affairs, Chief Martin Agbede has been directed to work with other stakeholders to ensure that, the State House of Assembly passes the Community development based legislation.

“You have to work with major stakeholders and your colleagues to ensure that the assembly passes the community based legislation, which is to define and regulate community administration in the State.

“Most of the crises in our communities are due to the breakdown of community administration
“Young people overthrowing one another, sometimes violently, youth groups overthrowing elders’ councils, dethroning of chiefs and claiming compensation with all the attendant violence and litigation that has also destroyed our values”
Governor Dickson stated this while fielding questions from reporters in Government House, Yenagoa.

He said Government intends to have more presence in communities in the State, adding that, it is for this reason, the new Ministry of Chieftaincy and Community Development was created.

“We cannot have a Government that is distant from our rural dwellers. We want to close this gap by dealing directly with communities by doing projects directly with the communities that are development oriented” Governor Dickson Disclosed.

According to Governor Dickson, even the colonial masters had District Officers going round to administer the districts and wondered why such could be done now, when Government is the hands of the indigenes.

Governor Dickson explained that, when he was the commissioner of Justice and Attorney-General, he sent a bill to the House on community development, which was not passed before he left for the National assembly.