YOUTH ELECTIONS: I SUPPORT ZONING SYSTEM-CHIEF ENTIRE

As the elections for a new Executive Committee for the Opu Nembe Youth Federation comes closer, a prominent personality in the community, Chief I.M. Edoghotu-Etire had called for strict compliance to upholding the rules of zoning that had been most orderly and peaceful for many years.

He stated this during an interview with Golden Pen News Online in the Bayelsa State Capital, Yenagoa in the Niger Delta Region, South/South Nigeria.

Chief Edoghotu-Etire said the call became imperative following wide spread allegations of moves by some self seeking persons making clandestine attempts to sack or to bury the zoning system for their own personal interest, which according to him goes contrary to the overall interest of the Opu Nembe Bassambiri Community.

Calling for peace and orderliness whenever the said election shall be conducted, Chief Edoghotu-Etire advised as follows:

"I want interested parties to know that there has been a zoning arrangement for the Youth elections, the Presidency is zoned normally to compounds and to Chieftaincy Groups of Houses.

We have three compounds, namely: Sikakapolo, Ogbopolo, and Igbobeleupolo, and from these compounds we have the groups of Houses to which the zoning arrangement for the youth presidency had benefitted many."

He used the medium to graphically posit that:

"The incumbent Youth President, Mr. I. Theo Iruo comes from  Igbobeleupolo and from Pegi Group of Chieftaincy Houses. And from that very compound based on the zoning arrangement all the three Groups of Chieftaincy Houses of Duguruyai, of Iwowari and Pegi have all benefitted.

"The zoning is now going to Ogbopolo where we have four Groups of Chieftaincy Houses:

Ogbu, Elemah, Kalabo and Arisimo and out of these, three Groups Ogbu, Elemah and Kalabo have produced Youth President according to the zoning arrangement and now is the turn of the Arisimo Group to produce the next Youth President, whenever the election shall be conducted," said, Chief Edoghotu-Etire.

He gave a run down of former Youth Presidents, the Compounds and the Chieftaincy Houses they came from in this order:

* Youngboy Bokolo-Sikakapolo - Dede Grroup

* Johnson Theophilus - Ogbopolo - Elemah Group

* Christian Sambo -Ogbopolo - Ogbu Group

* Jonah Ogbopolo - Igbobeleupolo Kalabo Group

* Kuroghofa Walter now, (Chief  Benwari) Igbobeleupolo - Iwowari Group

* Okorigbanyo Yousuo - Igbobeleupolo - Duguruyai Group

* Naworio James Sikakapolo - Tamuno Group.

And it was very orderly and peaceful because of the zoning formula Chief Edoghotu-Etire emphasized, while calling on those scheming to abolish the zoning formula for their personal interest not to do anything that would jeopardize the overall interest of the Community.