ON GOVERNOR OKOWA’S ASSENT TO BILL PROHIBITING EXTORTION, FORCEFUL ENTRY ON LANDED PROPERTY – BY FAR THE BEST MOVE OF THE OKOWA ADMINISTRATION

By Zik Gbemre 

The recent signing into law, the Delta State Public and Private Properties Protection Bill 2018, which outlaws illegal collections, harassment and forceful entry by touts into development sites in the name of “deve”, can be said to be the best bill/policy that has been nurtured and signed into law by the Governor Okowa administration. We only wish this law could have come a bit sooner, because it would have prevented a lot of prospective investors and property developers from leaving the State. But is better late than never. What Governor Okowa has done is the right thing. And by this action, he has done what no government before him has been able to do in addressing this ‘deve’ menace in the State.

We are a hundred percent certain that if this law is fully and holistically implemented and enforced without any reservations or favoritism, it will surely boost the economy of Delta State in the near and far future. Even Governor Okowa acknowledged this fact when he noted that:  “… this bill is to prohibit the forcefully entry into public and private properties has been signed into law. It will stop youths from trespassing into property development sites in the state and make investment to thrive. This prohibition will impact on the lives of our people and bring investment sanity into the state.”

However, I think Governor Okowa should appoint a Commissioner to personally enforce this law. The problem we have always had when it comes to laws, is their implementation and enforcement. There is also need to brief all the relevant Security Operatives to corporate with the public, so that they can promptly respond whenever the said law is seen to have been breached by any tout or group of touts. The Delta State Government needs to brief the Security Operatives – Nigerian Police Force (NPF), so that they can respond to calls from complainants without protocols of making entries before the arrest of these “touts/deve boys” are made. There is also the need for the Delta State Government to brief the Traditional Rulers, Council Chairmen and Community President Generals (PGs)/Chairmen to warn their youths to stay off construction project/building sites of private individuals and companies, in the name of their useless levies (deve) coloured with some outdated (fabricated) laws. If not, this law recently assented will be made useless.

These are the kinds of laws and good policies that would improve the lives of Deltans and its economy. Many people are scared to invest in Delta State because of the bad attitudes of the youths, most of whom only think of the ‘now’ without thinking about the future, and how their actions of today can actually shape that future. We pray that the Delta State Government will be taking such actions more in the future – policies that will address the anomalies evident in the State.

Zik Gbemre, JP.

National Coordinator

Niger Delta Peace Coalition (NDPC