Crisis In Ebiraland Requires Divine Intervention - Kogi Acting Gov

Johnson Babajide, Lokoja - 22.03.2008

The acting governor of Kogi State, Chief Clarence Olafemi, has described the situation in Ebiraland as one that required divine intervention.

Olafemi made the submission on Thursday when the House of Representatives Committee on Police Affairs paid him a visit. The committee was in the state on a fact-finding mission on the killing of people and the destruction of property at Ogaminana, headquaters of Adavi Local Government Area of the state.

The acting governor said the state which used to be peaceful was gradually becoming violent, stressing that the situation in the central zone had gone beyond government’s intervention. He told the lawmakers that he was forced to accompany the campaign train of his party last Monday to the volatile area due to the situation in the zone, saying, “I demanded for a bulletproof vest and also offered prayers before I embarked on the journey.

“While at the venue of the campaign, I could not concentrate on what was going on, because I was busy looking here and there in case there will be gun shot from anywhere,” he said.

He, however, accused the elite in the area for promoting crisis, explaining that no fewer than 200 AK 47 guns were in the zone, adding that the insecurity in the area was taking a toll on the government as he said that government spent a substantial part of its allocation to keep peace in Ebiraland.

“Mr chairman, distinguished members, it is unfortunate to inform you that the situation in Ebiraland is so terrible that the government spends substantial part of the allocation which could have been diverted for the provission of basic amenities to the people of the state to keep peace in this zone.”