The Rivers State Elders and Leaders Council (RELEC), has kicked against political appointments and award of scholarships to people who are not indigenes of Rivers State.
The group lamented the high rate of insecurity in Rivers State and called on the state government, the state police command and other security agencies to wake up and live up to expectations.
Chairman of RELEC, Chief Albert Horsfall, who spoke to newsmen at the end of the group’s meeting in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, said elders and leaders of the state will accept the appointment and award of scholarships to non-indigenes of the state, if the home-state of the beneficiaries reciprocates such gesture.
Horsfall said, “We discussed the matter of protection of the interest of Rivers State; the state belongs to a people and we have 36 states in the nation, with Rivers State being one of it. There are indigenous people of Rives State and we want to be so recognised and treated. This state is not a free for all or an all comers’ state.
“I live in Lagos most of the time; not even Lagos or even now Abuja is such a free ride for everybody to go and exercise his authority. We hear the scholarship from here is being flanged to various places here and there. Commissioners and advisers from other places are being appointed here. We condemn that; we can only accept that on reciprocal basis.
“If we give you a scholarship from here, and you are from another state, we want to know that your state will also give a Rivers man or woman the same treatment; same as political appointments. We refuse to give political appointments to people from other states unless they do the same for Rivers people. So, whatever these things are, they must be reciprocal.
No comments :
Post a Comment