Bayelsa to Give Legal Backing to Order of Precedence and Protocol

22 OCTOBER 2012
The Bayelsa state Government has inaugurated a committee on preparation of order of precedence and comprehensive protocol list in the state. Governor Seriake Dickson, who inaugurated the members at the executive council chambers, government, house, Yenagoa, said the need arose because of the absence of a proper protocol services in government.

According to him, “part of what we found missing when we came into office was the absence of proper protocol services, procedures and practices and tradition in government.

“Government has its tradition and those in government must conform to certain standard or behaviour in their public or private conduct”. Describing the committee as very important, the Governor said, with its inauguration, government will be presented with an ideal order of precedence it will adopt and follow in all its formal transactions.

Dickson, while noting that the existing protocol list creates a lot of confusion, charged the committee to develop a comprehensive one and also look at the applicable laws as contained in the acts of the national Assembly to see how it can be reviewed for use in the state.

He stressed the need to accord recognition to people by virtue of their position and others for their personal achievements and contributions to the service of the state.

The Governor noted that such persons need to be in the protocol list of government. “When there are formal events, the events are open but not open to everybody and the protocol list is what guides governments invitation.

“So it very, very important aspect of the tradition of government and this we found to be inadequate”, he opined. Dickson gave approval to the recruitment of young men and women into the protocol service of the state in addition to co-opting those with the required experience from all arms of government to enable people attending government programmes get the right attention.

For its permanent usage in governance, the governor stated that he will soon forward a bill to that effect to the state house of assembly for legislation so that the order of precedence and protocol list can become a law in the state.

He called on the public and the state house of assembly to send in names in their constituents who they feel deserve to be in the protocol list while also calling on the speaker of the house of assembly to inform his colleagues in the house on the issue.

The Governor also used the occasion to announce that government will soon inaugurate a committee on values. In his response, the secretary to the state government, Prof. Edmund Allison Oguru, who is chairman of the committee, assured the governor that the members would give their best to make the assignment a success.

The SSG expressed pleasure to serve in a committee, which he described as made up of highly qualified individuals while accepting the onerous responsibility of chairing the committee.

Other members of the committee include the chief of staff, government house, the director, state protocol, the Attorney-General and commissioner for justice and the clerk of the state house of assembly.

The rest are the commissioner for information and orientation, the chief registrar, High court of Justice, permanent secretary, ministry of local government and community development, the chief press secretary to the governor and Mrs. Timi Okara-Schiller.