BY UKET OKA, Calabar
The Senator representing Cross River State Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Senator Eteng Williams, has advocated for a distinct constitutional role for traditional rulers in Nigeria as a panacea in conflict resolution in various communities nationwide.
Senator Williams, who made the advocacy Thursday, when he spoke with journalists in Calabar, Cross River State capital, said, “the traditional rulers have a key role and that is why some of us are proposing an amendment to the constitution where we should have a role for traditional rulers.”
“We need the traditional rulers to have a role constitutionally that will help in conflict resolution the best way of conflict resolution is when you nip it in the bud.
“Sometimes you start from the family and you know that our traditional Rulers should have a role and we know ourselves when we talk about our community”.
The Senator who is the Chairman Senate Committee on Petroleum Upstream and the immediate past Speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly, also noted that, every community knows one another.
“We know the bad ones and the good ones they will call the family head and say come, they can be tamed,” he said.
Senator Williams further appealed to his constituents to shun every form of violent clash during this year’s farming season.
He also advised warring communities to always use dialogue to resolve conflicts as that is the only option, acknowledging that, “most farming seasons come with communal clashes over farm lands when simple dialogue will have resolved the differences that led to the clashes.”
Senator Williams said dialogue is the only option and condemned the reported incident of attack in Nde community of Ikom local government and called on the security agencies to redouble their efforts to bring to book those behind the attack that recorded the killing of not less than two persons and adoption of many others.
He assured his constituents of good representation in 2024 adding that he has so far attracted a number of developmental projects to the central Senatorial district.
Senator Williams enumerated some of the development projects to include, the road from Adim to Ndibe another road in Obubra across the river where they never had a road as well as the Ugep-Abomeghe, Ikom to Obudu road which are all captured in the 2024 Budget.
Other projects he said include, “water, schools, renovations, solar lights that I have been able to capture in my very first budget and all these things will be executed this year”.
Senator Williams explained that as the Chairman of the Petroleum Upstream Committee in the Senate, the turn around maintenance of the refineries this time is a reality and the Senate is also looking into the issue of oil theft in the country with a commitment to nip same in the bud.