TENSION IN BAYELSA COMMUNITY AS PEOPLE DEMAND REMOVAL OF KING

Palpable tension has gripped Oluasiri community in Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State over protests by the people that the state government should remove its paramount ruler, Chief Awululu Iyeritei Chiefson.

Eyewitness account said the people of the community protested by marching across the community to end what they alleged to be high-handedness and misrule of the paramount ruler. The people of the community also urged the state government to remove the paramount ruler immediately to avoid bloodshed.

The protest spearheaded by the community Development Committee Chairman of Tengele Ama Community, Elder Isuku Koinbo, the Oluasiri Federation Youth President, Oguara Daniel, Leader of the Oluasiri women, Inara Ebenezer, accused Chiefson of meddling in politics thereby provoking internal communal crisis which had robbed the community of benefitting from any infrastructural development.

Investigations revealed that Chiefson had left the community before the protesters got to his palace.

The protesters, carrying placards with inscriptions such as 'Iyerite must go', 'we want a good leader not a bad man', 'selfish leader go', 'we have no light, we are suffering', chanted and sang war songs as they marched through the major roads in the community, shutting down business activities before ending up at the King residence where they use palm fonts to surround the palace to indicate that they had rejected him as a leader.

Daniel said the protest was an offshoot of the suffering the people of the community had endured since Chiefson ascended the throne.

'He is a leader that does not listen to his people; the people want a leader that will bring development to the community,' he added. The Chairman of the Oluasiri Council of Elders, Peter Ben Isaiah disclosed that the community had written to the Bassambiri Council of Chiefs and the state traditional rulers council to intimate them about the development.

While commending the Nembe Bassambiri Council of Chiefs for selecting the first leader for Oluasiri community when it was in crisis, he added that it was sad that Chief Chiefson had to fail his people by neglecting them.