Bayelsa State Government has urged the relevant stakeholders to join hands with the administration to curb the menace of violence against women, children and the vulnerable.
Commissioner for Information, Orientation and Strategy, Ayiba Duba, made the call when he received members of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Bayelsa State Branch, in his office, Yenagoa.
Duba stated that women, children and the vulnerable had become easy targets for people to prey on, noting that because of their vulnerable disposition, they are physically, sexually and mentally abused as well as exploited.
The commissioner emphasized it was the duty of the government and the larger society to protect such persons from predators.
Duba charged parents and guardians to adequately care for their children and wards by inculcating moral values in them to stem the increasing rate of vices among young persons.
Duba stressed that perpetrators of violence against women, children and the vulnerable should be held accountable for their crimes, to serve as a deterrent to others.
Speaking, chairperson of FIDA, BTariere Egbegi, noted that the mandate of the organisation was to promote, protect and preserve the rights and wellbeing of women and children through extant legislations in the state.
Egbegi requested for government collaboration to take the campaign against domestic violence and child abuse to the grassroots.
In a related development, the state government said there was no such plan by the government or any of its agencies to sell the gas turbines at Imiringi community in Ogbia Local Government Area.
The government said it rather wanted to rehabilitate it so that power could be restored in the area before the end of this year.
Following the protest, the Chief of Staff, Government House, Chief Benson Agadaga, initiated a meeting involving all stakeholders including the management of Bayelsa Electricity Board, Commissioner for Power and Water Resources, chiefs and youths of Imiringi to clear the air and dispel the rumour.
Director of the Bayelsa state Electricity Board, Olice Kemenanabo, at the meeting presided by Agadaga, said he had the approval of Governor Douye Diri to rehabilitate the turbines for optimal efficiency.
Representatives of the Ogbia Brotherhood and that of His Royal Majesty, King Owaba and the Ogbia Brotherhood Youth Wing, had raised concerns that they were not carried along.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Environment, Iselema Gbaranbiri, has reiterated government’s readiness to implement the Environment and Development Planning Authority Law in the view to frontally tackle the environmental degradation bedeviling the state’s environment.