Controversy trails relocation of RDA HQ from Wike’s ally community by Bayelsa Gov’t
By: Odie Ramon, Yenagoa.
Controversy is trailing the relocation of the Kolo Creek Rural Development Authority (RDA) from the Kolo community to the Emeyal community, both in the Ogbia Local Government Area.
Kolo community is the hometown of Mr George Turnah, a former aide of Governor Douye Diri, who had fallen out with the governor and had switched political loyalty to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nysesom Wike.
Kolo Creek RDA was one of the unrecognized local government areas created by the former governor of the state, Chief Solomon Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, in 2000
However, the current controversy, which had sparked protests by the people of the Kolo community, was the decision by the state government to relocate the RDA local government headquarters to Emeyal II.
The people had denounced the relocation, citing the ongoing rift between Turnah and Senator Diri as the reason for the decision.
According to the people, the decision to marginalize the people of the Kolo community because of the politics of Turnah was in bad faith.
They noted that discreet moves by the state government to approach the National Assembly by the state government to create a full-fledged local government named Ogbia North Local Government Local Area from the existing Kolo RDA and site its headquarters in Emeyal II instead of the Kolo community, which is the headquarters of Ogbia constituency III will only trigger an avoidable crisis.
Chief Solomon Ederi Aginaye, 1st Deputy Agholo, King of Kolo Kingdom, declared that the people, through protest, have expressed their grievances over the attempt to shortchange the people of Kolo community.
According to him, the people are disturbed because the interest of the people of Kolo community was not taken into consideration by those who have made up their minds to ‘’gang up against Kolo.
He lamented that since the Kolo community supported the governorship ambition of Senator Douye for his first and second term, the Kolo community has not benefitted in terms of projects and appointments.
Chief Aginaye appealed to Senator Diri to resist the temptation to allow his interest to override the interest of the state.
‘’The people are calling on President Bola Tinubu, Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, the House of Representatives Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, and Wike to stop the evil orchestration by the Diri administration against peace-loving people of Kolo and reinstate Kolo as the headquarters of Kolo Creek RDA as a full-fledged local government area which has now been fraudulently renamed Ogbia North Local Government Area in the proposal submitted to the National Assembly’’
Governor Diri, in a meeting with representatives of Kolo and Emeyal communities in Government House, disclosed that the meeting was called to ensure that there was law and order in Ogbia Constituency III following the disagreement about what he called the perceived relocation of the headquarters of Kolo Creek Local Government Area from Kolo community to Emeyal II.
Diri, who insisted that Kolo remains the headquarters of the RDA, explained that the notice for the creation of new local government areas from the Federal Government was received late, leaving the state government with a very short time to make a decision.
Diri emphasized that councils are yet to be created, stressing that historically, no civilian administration has been able to create local government areas.
