The lawmaker representing Delta Central Senatorial District, Senator Ede Dafinone, on Sunday called for the rehabilitation and effective engagement of the displaced people of Okuama community in Ewu Kingdom, Ughelli South Local Government Area of the state.
Several indigenes of Okuama fled into the bush in the aftermath of the March 14, 2024, killing of 17 army officers and soldiers on a peace mission over the Okuama/Okoloba communal crisis.
The traditional ruler of Ewu Kingdom, Clement Ikolo, who was detained by the military authorities in Abuja over the incident, was released on Friday.
Dafinone, at a consultative meeting with the people of his constituency on Sunday, lauded the military for releasing the monarch whom he described as “a holder of Urhobo culture and tradition.
He noted that the monarch was crowned late last year and “has lived abroad for so many years and is only just returning to Nigeria this year.”
Dafinone said, “The fact-finding mission of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, who visited Okuama on Saturday, has shown that the community is in bad condition and needs rehabilitation.
“The people in those villages and the farmers need resettlement. They need engagement in productive livelihood for them to be able to start their lives all over again.
“In the meantime, in my capacity as Senator, and my capacity, I fully support the investigations that the military is doing to find out those behind the killings, those behind the issues that led to the killings so that they could face the full wrath of the law.
“I have given my assurances to the government and the military that I will continue to stand by them on this course.”
On the recurring herders/farmers clashes that have claimed several lives in Delta Central Senatorial District, Dafinone stated that “even though it is a national problem not unique to Delta Central”, he would “liaise with fellow lawmakers in the National Assembly and see how best we can work out solutions that cover everybody”.
He also spoke on the moribund Delta Steel Company, which he described as “a huge asset to Nigeria that needs urgent overhauling to ensure that we can get a better return on investment from that place”.