NOA campaigns against insecurity in Bayelsa

Nathan Tamarapreye, Yenagoa

The National Orientation Agency (NOA) in Bayelsa on Friday commenced a robust campaign by critical stakeholders against insecurity and challenges to unity facing the nation.

The State Director of NOA in Bayelsa, Mrs Grace Olobio, made this known during a one-day round table conference held at the Goodluck Ebele Jonathan Federal Secretariat complex in Yenagoa.

The conference had the theme, “Pathway to National Cohesion, Development and Unity.”

The NOA State Director was represented by the Deputy Director, Programmes, Mrs Ndidiamaka Mumeya-Francis.

She noted that issues of insurgency, banditry, extremism, youth restiveness, herder-farmer conflicts, militancy, kidnapping, pipeline vandalism, among others, are major challenges confronting the nation and need to be addressed and tackled by all citizens.

She urged people to always be vigilant and to report criminality and infractions of the law to security agencies, noting that the pathway to National development requires everyone to join the campaign to protect the country’s wealth from criminal syndicates who drain its natural resources and damage the environment.

The Director of a Non-Governmental Organisation, Peace Building, Conflict Resolution Trainers Network, Dr. Dotimi Ogbofa, spoke on the negative impacts of oil production and spillage in the various communities.

Ogboga identified greed on the part of some traditional leaders for the unemployment and underdevelopment bedevilling most oil-rich communities.

In their goodwill messages, the Bayelsa State Coordinator National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency, Mr Nwankwala Stalin and the representative from the National Council for Women Society, Mrs Nyanayo Maggi and that of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, Mr Oguntuase A, commended NOA for the effort.

They pledged to collaborate with the agency to ensure the campaign gets to people living in the communities, as the program would be replicated in the eight local government areas of the state.