ODAHIEKWU OGUNDE, Yenagoa
Kinsmen of the Deputy Speaker, Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Mr. Michael Ogbere, in Ekeremor Local Government Area have threatened to recall him from the House if he does not stop harrassing and intimidating constituted communities’ authorities in the area.
His kinsmen from Egbemo-Angalabiri community, therefore, called on the lawmaker to focus on his lawmaking and stop meddling in the affairs of the community if he did not want to incur the wrath of his constituents.
The community leaders accused him of allegedly sacking the legitimate leadership of the community and replacing them with his loyalists.
At a news conference in Yenagoa, the state capital, the leadership of the community led by the Acting Royal Highness of Egbemo-Angalabiri, Chief Ayakurai Gometi, appealed to Governor Douye Diri and the House of Assembly Speaker Abraham Ingobere to intervene as well as caution the lawmaker over his meddlesomeness.
Gometi, accompanied by Chiefs Elkanah Seibokuro, Simon Ebikebina, 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 claimed: “Some youths loyal to him have his instructions to sack all the chiefs in the community from their homes.
“All the chiefs were asked to leave the community or being dealt with severely. As we speak, all the houses/residences of the chiefs have been disconnected from electricity in the community.”
Also, 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 youths, Community Development Committees, Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU) and the Council of Chiefs so that he can subsequently install himself as the Amananaowei (King).
“This is the reason he is unilaterally installing his own boys and loyalists in community’s leadership positions claiming that he is carrying out the instructions of Governor Douye Diri. We are warning that if he doesn’t retrace his steps, we will have no other choice but to join forces with other constituents to recall him because we voted him to the House of Assembly.
“We want to put the various security agencies on notice that Ogbere should be held responsible for any breach of the peace and breakdown of law and order in the community because his actions are capable of causing a crisis in the community.”
Another community leader, David Atiye, said they voted Ogbere to the Assembly to attract projects and development to the community but he had left his lawmaking duties to dabble into community politics and wanted to take over the leadership of the community by force.
Also speaking, Chief Simon Ebikebina, alleged that the deputy speaker had been threatening that he would deal with members of Chiefs Council that would dare venture into the community.
Ebikebina claimed: “We cannot even go to our community. I was beaten up on the orders of the deputy speaker two weeks ago and hospitalised. We are therefore appealing to the state government to caution him and intervene before the issues escalate further.”
Reacting to their allegations, the Deputy Speaker, Michael 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 Bayelsa State government.
He noted that he was not a member of the panel which investigated the crisis bedeviling Egbamo-Angalabiri, stressing that Mr Seibokuro, Simon and Atiye participated in the proceedings before the panel and therefore were bound by the recommendations.
Ogbere, who spoke through his media aide, Akeme Moses, also said it was untrue that he had barred anyone from entering the community.
He also denied allegation that he aspired to be King of the community as well as seeking to foist a candidate on the Community Trust (CT).
He claimed all their agitations was borne out of his refusal to perpetuate them in office and filibuster the decision of the community.
Ogbere said: “This is false and reflects the extent these persons can go in order to hold down the community.
“Security agencies and members of the public are requested to put these persons under watch as they might be conspiring to unleash violence on the community.”