BAYELSA PEACE DIALOGUE: 19-MAN ADVOCACY/ADVISORY/ DRAFTING C'TTEE INAUGURATED FOR PEACE COMMISSION BILL FOR AN ACT; LAUD

[Abigail pereowei]

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), European Union and her partners.

The CPC drafting committee is Chaired by a Distinguished Lawmaker, Legal icon and Peace Advocate - 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 her partners.

A panel discourse comprising representatives from gender, legal, clergy, civil society activists groups; security, anchored by Barr. Paraboma Igbomgbo 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 participating 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 16 partnering communities drawn across the State with 2 communities selected per Local Government and training facilitation for peace stakeholders in the oil-rich region.

Secretary of the Bayelsa State Peace Architecture, Dr Inebaraton Preye who gave a formal position paper on the need for the constitution of the committee and subsequent inauguration of the 19 member Committee highlighted the gains of the commission to the sustainable of peace in the State as he enumerated the composition of the committee:
ADVOCACY/ADVISORY/ DRAFTING COUNCIL FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE BAYELSA STATE COMMUNITY PEACE COMMISSION

1. . SEN NIMI BARIGHA AMANGE- CO- CHAIRMAN,
2. . HON ALFRED WATSON BELEMOTE - CO-CHAIRMAN
3. HON AYIBANENGIYEFA EGBA, BYHA CHAIRMAN, COMMITTEE ON GENDER AND SOCIAL DEVT
4. MR CLAUDE UJILE- PERMANENT SECRETARY, POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC AFFAIRS, SSG's OFFICE
5. BISHOP DOTIMI EGBEGI- CAN/RELIGIOUS GROUP REPS.
6. HON TARIYE LELEI - ALGON CHAIRMAN
7. DR JOSEPHINE EKEUWEI AKANDE -VICE CHAIRMAN SILGA,
8. COMR PERES INEIFIE, REPS YOUTH GROUPS
9. SIR JONATHAN JOHNNY AND CHIEF TRUMAN ABIAMA, LPA/CPA REPS
10. BARR PARABOMA IGBOMGBO AND T. E BOATMAN- LEGAL REPRESENTATIVE
11. BARR BOMA MIEBAI, WOMEN AND GIRLS GROUPS
12. REPS, TRADITIONAL RULERS COUNCIL
13. DR MOZIMO AMATARE- TECHNICAL AND POLICY TEAM
14. BARR DISE OGBISE-HARRY
15. MAJOR EBI, REPS PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
16. REPS, S. A SECURITY OFFICE
17.REPS, 16 BRIGADE
18.REPS, COMMISSIONER OF POLICE AND OTHER SECURITY FORMATIONS
19. DR INEBARATON PREYE , SECRETARY BAYELSA SPA/ SECRETARY TO THE COUNCIL.

The Chairman of the Bayelsa State Peace Architecture,Hon Alfred Watson Belemote who formally declared the session open for deliberation described the formal inauguration of the high powered committee as a step in the right direction towards a sustainable peace initiative in Bayelsa State.


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