BAYELSA PEACE DIALOGUE: 19-MAN DRAFTING C’TTEE INAUGURATED FOR PEACE COMMISSION BILL FOR AN ACT; LAUDS GOV DIRI FOR PEACE SUSTAINABILITY
A high powered nineteen-man committee for the drafting of proposed bill for an act for the establishment of a Sustainable Community Peace Commission (CPC) in Bayelsa State has been inaugurated.
This was the fall out of a one-day Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue for Peace Sustenance Initiative themed “Transformative Dialogue for Bayelsa Community Peace Commission (CPC) Bill for an Act,” organized by the Bayelsa State Peace Architecture (BY-SPA), facilitated by the Search for Common Ground (SFCG).
The CPC drafting committee is Chaired by a Distinguish Lawmaker and monarch – Senator Barigha Amange and co-chaired with the State Honourable Commissioner for Community Development who doubles as the Bayelsa Chairman of the State Peace Architecture (BYSPA) Hon. Watson Alfred Belemote.
A serving lawmaker in the Bayelsa State 7th House of Assembly, and Chairperson of the Assembly House Committee on Gender and Social Development, Hon. Mrs. Ayibanengiyefa Egba is to serve as secretary while BYSPA Secretary, Dr. Inebaraton Preye is the Co-Secretary of the proposed CPC bill drafting committee.
Other participants so inaugurated included representatives from security agencies, non-governmental organisations (BANGOF) and government related agencies such as Ministry of Justice, Youth and Gender based Groups, legal practitioners and the Office of the Secretary to the State Government (SSG) representated by the Permanent Secretary in charge of Politics and Economic Affairs, Mr Claude Ujile.
The SSG endorsed the verdict for the CPC bill for an act as he assured to push it through for government acceptance and final assent in the quest for institutionalising peace initiatives and sustenability in governance.
The committee was given a mandate by participants to draft the policy bill for an act within a month and also make advocacy visits to relevant government Ministerial Department’s and Agencies (MDAs) to buy into the CPC project and see through that the CPC bill for an act becomes a reality within the next two months in the quest to sustain peace initiatives beyond the present administration.
Speaking as the Keynote Speaker, Prof. Tonbara Kingdom, who gave detailed expose on the theme of the Dialogue highlighted key drivers of violence and proposed peace building initiatives to be sustained in governance against threats to peace in the Niger Delta.
His counterpart from the Federal University, Otuoke, Prof. Chris Onyema, DVC Academics, enumerated practical ways as modus operandi of which peace initiatives can be institutionalised and sustained over time in Bayelsa and the Niger Delta at large while commending the efforts of SFCG, BYSPA and partners.
A panel discourse comprising representatives from gender, legal, clergy, civil society activists groups; security, anchored by Barr. Paraboma Ngbomgbo saw the multi-diverse panelists discuss issues of Peace Building and inclusivity in the Bayelsa polity proffering novel solutions to the spate of violence and criminality and how such can be stemmed through the establishment of the proposed CPC by a bill for an act.
A nine-point communique was concluded at the end of the dialogue with participant stakeholders lauding existing efforts for peace building by the incumbent Bayelsa State government in power with a call to enforce social security system for economic empowerment of disadvantaged groups such as women, youths and people with disabilities (PWDs)
to curb threats to peace.
Other measures recommended in the communique were the need to strengthen existing peace and conflict resolutions structures in place such as the community safety corps, community policing; state conflict resolution committees into the proposed Community Peace Commission (CPC) Bill for an Act so as to firm it up to be all-inclusive.
There was also the call for traditional rulers and local government chairmen to be settled in their domains rather than stay in the state capital as a means to peace sustenance in Bayelsa State.
State Security Emergency numbers were shared to participants to always alert relevant agencies on the need to be forewarned and being forearmed to check any threat to peace in the state while charging all to take the message of peace and security to their various domains.
The one-day multi-stakeholder dialogue for peace sustenance was organised by the Bayelsa State Peace Architecture (BYSPA) as an initiative facilitated by Search for Common Ground with funding from the European Union (EU) and partners such as the Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND) and the Stakeholders Democracy Network (SDN).
It is geared towards adopting a multi-stakeholders approach for the transformation of violence and criminality in the Niger Delta towards peace building, livelihood support in targeted partner communities and training facilitation for peace stakeholders in the oil-rich region.
Signed:
Dr. Amatare Mozimo
SPA Dialogue for CPC Rapporteur/Co-Anchor & Communique Drafting Cttee Chairman
08066001713
