Do not be pawn in the chess game of any political party, Gov. Diri advises Nigerian Navy

…NDLEA decorates Gov. Diri Ambassador Against Drug Abuse

Isaac Ombe, Yenagoa

Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State has received new Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) Central Naval Command as he advised him not to be a pawn in the chess game of anybody or any political party.

The governor also received the new Comptroller of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Bayelsa Command and the  NDLEA State Commandant.

The governor’s advise to the new naval commander is coming on the heels of heightened political activities in the state , especially in the largest Local government Area and mainly riverine part of the state , Southern Ijaw LGA, where it is usually a political battle field between the ruling Political Party PDP in the state, and the opposition APC .

The governor had   congratulated  Abbas on his appointment and  also urged him and his officers to discharge their duties with a high sense of professionalism and should not allow themselves to be influenced by partisan politics.

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Impeccable sources disclosed that the PDP  has expressed fears that the command may be influenced by some powerful indigenes of the state’s  extraction at the federal level ahead of  the tense political  activities  that usually envelops the riverine communities.

Sources says the fears may not be out of place considering several cases of transfer of the Commissioner of Police in the state for more than nine times in less than three months.

“I believe you have distinguished and excelled in your service and will not be a pawn in the chess game of anybody or any political party”, governor Diri told Rear Admiral Idi Abbas, the new Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) Central Naval Command, when he received him in Government House,  Yenagoa

He also  charged him to collaborate with the state government in curbing oil theft, illegal bunkering, kidnapping and related crimes in the maritime domain of the state, and  expressed confidence that Abbas, having served in the Command in other capacities,  would contribute significantly towards sustaining the peace and development of the state.

“Ensure that you discharge your functions with utmost professionalism to bring about peace, security and development of Bayelsa and the country as a whole.

“Security does not know ethnicity. It has no face of political parties and so let nobody influence you and your Command on politics. We are in a political season and all kinds of characters are on display; the good, the bad and the ugly. The number one thing is to ensure safety of lives and property in our maritime domain and that is the only way we can talk about genuine development.”

Rear Admiral Idi Abbas, earlier in his remarks said his visit was to officially present himself to the governor following his posting to head the Command on February 4 this year and expressed gratitude to the state government for its support to the Command and appreciated it for the donation of land to build a referral hospital, adding that the secondary school allocated to the Navy would be taken over completely in no distant time.

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The Bayelsa State Governor also took a  critical look at the activities of terrorists in Nigeria, says the spate of killings by terrorists in the country was a great setback for Nigeria .

Governor Diri who decried that a situation where lives could be taken at will is the height of inhumanity Nigerians have found themselves and urged the APC-led federal government to effectively curb the killings.

Describing the present state of insecurity in Nigeria as worse than  in 2015 when the President Mohammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) government  took over power in the country, governor Diri called on the Federal Government to redouble its effort at combating insecurity, particularly in the northern part of the country.

The governor who spoke when he received Mr Sunday James, Comptroller of the Nigeria Immigration Service, Bayelsa Command,lamented the level of insecurity in the north, saying once a part of the country is in distress, other areas are also affected as the spate of killings by terrorists in the country was a great setback for Nigeria where lives could be taken at will.

His words: “I use this opportunity to again call on the Federal Government to do something. These are the same issues that led to the APC government coming to power in 2015.

“I am sure that you will agree that things are worse now than in 2015. The Federal Government has to redouble its effort. Otherwise the  joker card is with the people of Nigeria. They know what to do come 2023.

“When one part of the country is sick, it affects the other parts. Kaduna and other states in the North are sick security-wise and it is affecting other parts of the country. Nigeria is very close to the Thomas Hobbes’ ‘state of nature’ where life is described as nasty, brutish and short. The Federal Government has to do something to keep us away from the Hobbesian state.”, said governor Diri who further called on the new  Comptroller for more synergy between the service and the state government, especially in the areas of security and investment drive.

He disclosed that several steps have been put in place by  his administration to boost I investment and expressed the optimism that with collaboration with the service, Bayelsa would be the destination of choice for investors.

The governor attributed the relative peace being experienced in the state  to the collaboration among security agencies and urged the new Comptroller to toe the same path.

.Mr. James, earlier in his speech had told  the governor  that his visit was to formally present himself as the new helmsman of the service in the state, stressing that as the agency in charge of giving clearance to intending foreign visitors, he was prepared to synergise  to realise the state’s investment drive.

In a similar visit , Governor Diri was decorated as an ambassador against drug abuse by the state command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

The NDLEA State Commandant, Commander Aminu Ali, conferred the honour on the governor when he led other members of the agency to formally introduce himself as the new head of the command.

Commander Ali said the decision to decorate Governor Diri was borne out of his relentless effort and support to the command in checking the menace of illicit drugs among the youths.

Responding, Diri thanked the NDLEA for the honour, stressing that the fight against drug abuse and crime cannot be compromised in the state.

He said crime and drug had a relationship, noting that any society where criminality is high, drug abuse must be prevalent.

He stressed that the resolve of the state government to support the NDLEA was to ensure that the security and relative peace being enjoyed in the state was maintained.

He explained that the establishment of a state committee on drugs was a pointer to the fact that there were still onlookers and peddlers of drugs in the state and promised to improve on the state’s support for the command’s logistics.