Olusegun Samuel in Yenagoa
Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, has commended the elders and people of the state for standing against threats and intimidations during the November 11, 2023, governorship election that returned him for a second term in office in the state.
He said there were threat to life and outright intimidation of the people that refused to looked the way of the opposition, saying the people stood their ground to defend their mandates.
Governor Diri made the commendation at the Douye Diri Peace Prize and Leadership Lecture/book presentation in Yenagoa, the state capital.
The leadership lecture and book presentation was part of activities to mark Governor Diri’s second term inauguration today.
According to Diri, the former President Goodluck Jonathan, the elders and the people of the state stood by him.
He said: “All leaders both home and abroad did what was expected of them. This victory was not only because the governor work hard but because the people knew what they wanted.
“Peace and unity has eluded this state for some times, life were being threatened because of those who failed to do the biding of other party. Now that we have come to enjoy some level of peace and unity, we will not want to lose it.
“We cannot achieve anything because we were so factionalized, hence a committee was setup headed by late Inatimi Rufus Spiff, and they went a long way to reconciled all the leaders and political stakeholders. We have no other home to go apart from Bayelsa State.
“Once again, the Niger Delta has to sit up, it is not yet uhuru. We will give our support to the development of the state.”
Diri said it’s unfair for Bayelsa State to have eight local government areas, saying meanwhile all the resources come from the state. “Is that the country we want to continue to run?” He asked.
The governor, speaking further, said: “The federal government has carried away and have stolen the state internally generated revenue. Most of our communities have gone into extinction and more are still been threatened because of the activities of the multinationals.”
The keynote speaker, Senator Sunday Marshal Katung, said the people of the Niger Delta should reject being described as militants when they are fighting for what belongs to them.
Katung decried the ecological problems in Bayelsa State, and call for more attention from both the federal government and the international communities.
He said: “To change this tide and put the Ijaw nation in its rightful place, there is a need to take advantage that the global community offers in harnessing our human resources and addressing challenges. This can be achieved by the networks of the relevant stakeholders, organised private sector, civil society organisation, mass media and other stakeholders towards raising the banner of advocacy and social responsibilities.”
In his welcome address, the Director-General of ‘Yes Diri’, who is also the host of the programme, Gentle Emelah, said there is no better time than now to start the noble process of projecting the Ijaw Nation for global representation even as the country is passing through its most turbulent times in history.
Emelah, who also the state commissioner of Education, said the essence was to truly and urgently challenge themselves to strengthen the building blocks that project the Ijaw Nation for global representation.
He said the theme of the lecture was purposely and painstakingly crafted to awaken, galvanised and harmonised the expertise, passion, entrepreneurial orientation and professional capacities of the Ijaw people which to this moment has been in flux.
“The global space is more dynamic now, with an ever increasing entree of and reliance on technology, defining action in every sphere of life. The quantum of knowledge also shared is enormous. The Ijaw Nation must create a niche for itself in this space.”
Also speaking, member representing Sagbama/Ekeremor federal constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Fred Agbedi, said as a people, they are ready to work with the governor. “You are the right man for the state. We will do our best as the state representatives in Abuja to work with you to develop Bayelsa State.”
