The Yelwa Community in Shendam Local Government Area of Plateau State has requested the creation of Yelwa Local Government Area out of the present Shendam LGA.
The community made the demand Thursday while presenting its memo at the public hearing organised by the House of Representatives Special Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution for the North Central Zone in Jos.
Suleiman Baraya, Chairman of Yelwa Youth Development Association (YYDA) and member Yelwa Community Development Association (YCDA), while presenting the memo to the committee, said the community had been in existence since 1824 when Nigeria was not amalgamated and had made several requests for the creation of the LGA since 1979.
According to the chairman, “The population of the proposed Yelwa LGA is about 200,000 and the landmass is 1,476 square meters, which is more than the size of numerous other local government areas in Nigeria.
“The community is a heterogeneous predominantly occupied by the Jarawa, the Hausa, Fulani, Galambi, Jukun, Jahun, Tarok, and Goemai ethnic groups, who have co-habited for nearly a century, and have ultimately integrated with high sense of respect for the beliefs, norms, and values of one another, “ he added.
The community, however, noted that it had been living under untold form of marginalisation for years and strongly felt that granting the community the authority of a local government area will end these decades of unfortunate marginalisation and douse the occasional tensions resulting from various forms of discrimination faced the people.
Baraya further said, “It is our hope, therefore, that this committee will consider our prayers, in view of the facts presented above, as it makes its submission to the National Assembly Joint Committee on Constitution Review, for necessary legislation to ensure that Yelwa town and its surrounding villages and hamlets are duly accorded the status of an LGA.”
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