Herdsmen: Stakeholders support Dickson’s decision on grazing site

The Chairmen of the Restoration Caucus in the 8 local government areas of Bayelsa State have thrown their weight behind Governor Seriake Dickson over the designation of the land around the Bayelsa palm area as a grazing site for herdsmen and their cattle.

Speaking shortly after a closed-door meeting with the Governor, the chairmen led by Chief Thompson Okorotie, described the designation of the area for grazing activities, as a strategic security move to enable the government restrict the activities of herdsmen and monitor them.

He restated, the government has not sold any land to the cattle rearers, but rather took the decision to confine them to a particular area, to avoid clashes between herdsmen and farmers in the state, as witnessed in some parts of the country.

Okorotie said, the Governor used the opportunity of the meeting to reconstitute the restoration caucus in three local government areas, which are, Sagbama, Ogbia and Kolokuma/Opokuma.

According to him, under the re-organization, Chief Francis Doukpola becomes the chairman for Sagbama, Chief George Okrinya, for Ogbia, while Chief Isaac Kumokou heads the olokuma/Opokuma Restoration Caucus.

Also speaking, the chairman of the Yenagoa Local Government Restoration Caucus, Chief Godwin Moses Odumgba, urged Bayelsans to discountenance the concerns raised by some people, as the move would help to boost the internally generated revenue profile of the state.

In his remarks, Chief Doukpola said, the meeting also endorsed the on-going restructuring of the state public service, and called on workers to key into the policies of the government, aimed at reinvigorating the service for greater efficiency and productivity.

He re-emphasized that, the initiatives of the government were not intended to witch-hunt any worker, but to weed the service of ghost workers and other fraudulent practices.

It would be recalled that a 14-member Advisory Committee on Public Service Reforms was inaugurated last week, to sensitize and mobilize the people to support the government’s reforms in the public service.