24 years after, Plateau community demand village head

Members of Yelwa community in Shendam Local Government Area of Plateau State have appealed to the state government to give approval for the community to commence the process for selection of a village head. The request is coming 24 years after the death of the last community leader, Alhaji Adamu Othman.

Yelwa, a community that became popular following the 2004 bloodbath which eventually led the then President Olusegun Obasanjo to declare a state of emergency on Plateau State has two ruling houses with seven kingmakers.

Daily Trust on Sunday gathered that in 2002, the Long Goemai, paramount ruler of Shendam, who is saddled with the responsibility of installing the village head appointed Alhaji Usman Abdullahi, but the community petitioned the Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs and the appointment was revoked.

However, the community which sent a 15-man delegation to the member representing Shendam constituency and the Majority Leader in the state House of Assembly, Henry Yunkwap, said the absence of a village head was not healthy for the community and that the development was capable of promoting social vices.

The delegation which was headed by the Chairman, Yelwa Community Development Association, Adullahi Yakubu Haruna, also appealed to the state government and Operation Safe Haven to strengthen security in the area by establishing an ‘Army Batcher’.

Yunkwap expressed his support for the move and assured the people that he would forward their request to the appropriate authorities.