LANCEGUARDS- UPDATE

As part of the ongoing efforts to rid Rivers State of miscreants and their hiding places, Governor Celestine Omehia yesterday ordered the demolition of all waterfronts in the state and their replacement with modern housing units.
This is as he stated that the attention of the security men in the State would soon be directed to rural communities where the cultists who disturbed the peace of the town had fled to for cover, vowing that he would not leave any stone unturned in ridding the State of trouble makers.
When completed, the housing scheme which would be in phases would still occupied by those displaced from the new development. The first phase will see the building of 6,000 units.
Omehia gave the order yesterday at a stakeholders meeting in Government House, Port Harcourt where he directed the Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development, Mr. Chidiebere Okwuolu four months which needs December 2007 to complete the demolition of the structures in the area.
He premised his action on the fact that total peace would not be achieved unless the hoodlums were totally dislodged from their hiding places which the waterfronts is notorious for As part of measures to ensure total restoration of peace in Port Harcourt and its environs, the Rivers State Government says the waterfronts which served as haven for the activities of criminals would be replaced with modern houses.

He again, pleaded with the people of the State to bear with him on whatever pains his decision may bring upon them saying it was part of the sacrifice to ensure that the return of peace to the State was not temporary.Expected to come under the hammer of the demolition order are Abuja/Prisons, Reclamation, Borokiri, Elechi, Afikpo, Timber, Abonnema wharf, Okirika, Captain Amagala, Dockyard Creek, Rex Lawson, Enugu, Ojike and Abba, Ndoki, Marine Base, Bundu, Nembe, Belle and Bonny waterfronts with a collective population of over a million.He particularly thanked President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua for his support and assured him that the peace achieved in the State was irreversible and further expressed commitment to ensuring that people who come to the State carry on their businesses unmolested by anybody. Omehia who lamented that the insecurity in the State has given it a bad name both within and outside the country said it raised a lot of concerns at the Gulf of Guinea Security meeting after all efforts to placate the miscreants failed and they were shooting at soldiers sent to maintain the peace.Responding to the manner in which the governor lampooned Ijaw leaders for calling for the declaration of Stat e of Emergency, Gubernatorial candidate of Action Congress in the April Polls, Prince Tonye Princewill demanded for an apology from Omehia’s government saying though he did not agree with the elders, they deserved more respect that the way they were addressed. “I am disappointed but not surprised by the unguarded and undue verbal attack on the elders of our region. Even though I am not convinced a State of Emergency on its own will solve the problem in Rivers, there are better ways to go about agreeing to disagree. Our generation must remember to do unto others as you would want them do unto you. I expect a quick and unreserved apology in the not too distant future or …”, Princewill said. Chief Edwin Clark, a notable Ijaw Elder and Leader had in a conference, canvassed for the declaration of State of Emergency in Rivers State saying that Omehia has displayed inability to deal with the situation to return peace to the State.The State government had replied through Mr. Emma Okah who lampooned the elders as living out of tune with the present generation who ought to have expended their energy to reform the people who were causing the trouble.In a related development, royal fathers in the State yesterday commended Omehia for the steps he has so far taken to restore peace in the State where they also charged him to seize all opportunities to ensure that there was no relapse into previous situations.Speaking at the forum, he Chairman of Rivers State Council ofTraditional Rulers and the Amayangbo of Grand Bonny Kingdom, King Edward Asimini William Pepple called for the sustenance of the action against cultism, pointing out that the fight should go to the waterways where they have fled on the crack down against them in town. He conveyed the position of the chiefs to the governor who he assured that he enjoyed their confidence in his ability to steer the ship ofstate successfully “Those of you who have aided and abated these activities, those of you who have been sponsors, by omission or commission, I think this is the time for you to turn a new leaf”, the head of the royal fathers charged.Others who spoke in the same vein are Eze Gbakagbaka of Evoland, Eze Frank Eke who told Omehia to do everything in the interest of the peace and tranquility of the town as the were behind him. The Oba of Ogbaland, Oba Chukwuemeka Nnam Obi II said the action of the governor has restored hope in the resolution of the problem created by militancy and cultism in the State.