Tag: Diri

Bayelsa state governor, Douye Diri, has approved the reinstatement of previously dismissed employees from three state-owned tertiary institutions.

The re-absorbed 704 persons, who were disengaged in 2018, comprised 644 staff of the Niger Delta University, Amassoma, Isaac Jasper Adaka Boro College of Education, Sagbama (48) and the College of Health Technology, Otuogidi (12).

Speaking at the Government House, Yenagoa, when he received the report of the committee set up to look into the disengagement of the staff, Diri said he approved its recommendations, which included re-engagement of the majority of those sacked based on the needs of the institutions as well as the payment of their salary arrears and other entitlements.

He said their re-absorption would take effect from the month of September based on the recommendation of the committee.

He said contrary to speculations by those who want to play politics with everything in the state, his administration had been working on the issue quietly.

Diri reaffirmed his commitment to the welfare of Bayelsans, stressing that he would never play politics with the lives of people of the state

The governor expressed appreciation to members of the committee for the diligent job done and to those affected for their patience.

Diri stated: “This has been one issue we inherited and from when we came in, we had a lot of concerns about what had happened. In 2022, I constituted a committee to look into the issues.

“Some persons wanted to play politics with it but they did not know that we were working on it quietly. Today, I am happy we have come to the end of this issue.

“Having looked at the committee’s report, I approve all the recommendations. Therefore, most of the staff, particularly in the Niger Delta University, are hereby re-engaged.”

Read Also: Why I started Nembe-Brass road project, by Governor Diri

Earlier, Secretary to the State Government, Alabo Gideon Ekewei, who spoke on behalf of the committee, said that based on the needs of the affected institutions, the committee recommended the re-engagement of most of those sacked.

While thanking the governor for the opportunity to serve the state in that capacity, he also expressed appreciation to other members of the committee for their dedication and commitment to accomplishing the task.

The chairman of the Higher Institutions Joint Action Committee (HIJAC), Lucky Brambaifa, in his remarks, said the body was excited that the prolonged issue had finally been resolved.

Brambaifa commended the governor for prioritising the welfare of workers in the state and for ensuring that succour came to the reinstated staff of the higher institutions.

A non-governmental organisation, the New Generation Leaders (NGL), has told Bayelsa State founding fathers to beware of a plot by Governor Douye Diri to deceive them into attending an endorsement meeting disguised as a gathering in the state’s interests.

NGL in a statement on Saturday by its spokesman, Comrade Precious Odede, said that Diri after failing to deliver the dividends of democracy in office for four years had resorted to desperate strategies including adoption of deception to portray himself as a popular candidate.

Odede claimed that in his latest desperation, Diri had planned to lure the state’s founding fathers to the Government House for a meeting, which would surprisingly turn out to be an endorsement event.

He said at first the agenda of the meeting would look like a pro-Bayelsa meeting, but at the end the main objective of the meeting would be unveiled with media announcement that the founding fathers were behind him.

Odede wondered why Diri was planning to use his privileged position to intimidate and humiliate the state founding fathers, who were not pleased with his performance in office.

While showering encomiums on the founding fathers and elders, Odede appealed to them to scrutinise any invitation for a meeting ahead of the election.

Read Also: Mohbad: Ruth Kadiri condemns Naira Marley’s interview with Reno Omokri

He said the elders should be wondering why the governor never engaged them since he assumed office over four years ago but chose a period close to the election to do so.

Odede said: “Again, we have uncovered a plot to get our dearly revered founding fathers and elders to a meeting that will seem as a pro-Bayelsa meeting, but at the end of the day announcements will be made and the media will fly with stories of an endorsement.

“Unfortunately many of our dearly revered founding fathers and elders would be taken aback because they will, of course, be wondering the purpose for the visit.

“We condemn in totality, the planned move to humiliate and take advantage of our founding fathers and very respected elders. Over the years, we have known and seen them as apolitical, poised always just to the collective growth of our state.

“They are fathers to us all and sacrificing the integrity, reverence they have on the altar of politics is one of the most desperate political adventures we have ever heard.

“While we appreciate, adore and endorse our founding fathers and elder’s council, we may at this point advise that they scrutinise invitations at this point as it is very close to the elections.

“We eternally thank the Bayelsa State founding fathers and the elder’s council and we are aware that in their great wisdom no politician can trick them into a meeting that would be announced as an endorsement of Governor Douye Diri.”

Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri has lambasted former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, over severe attacks on his administration concerning epileptic electricity supply and gas utilisation in the state.

Sylva, the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the forthcoming November 11 good governorship poll in the state, had said during the inauguration of the party’s campaign council yesterday by the APC National Chairman, Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje, that Governor Diri lacked the administrative capacity to turn around the fortunes of the oil-rich state.

Sylva equally expressed concern over the lack of stable electricity despite the abundance of gas reserves in the state which he claimed was in trillion of cubic feets.

The former governor had asserted: “We are sitting on abundant gas reserves and yet we don’t have stable power. We are going to bridge that gap by giving stable electricity. The gas turbines here in Bayelsa have been sold by subsequent governments.

“We can’t understand why the gas turbines were sold and today we are in bad shape because of electricity supply. Is this the way a capital city should be looking?”

Read Also: Bayelsa LP candidate tackles Diri over infrastructure

But Governor Douye Diri in a swift response by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, said it was laughable that Sylva would accuse somebody else of lack of vision when he bungled his opportunities for five years when he held sway as governor of the state.

Diri said: “It is a sad reality that when people set bad examples when they are given responsibility, they resort to giving good advice. It is simply laughable that Sylva would accuse somebody else of lack of vision. This is a man that had the opportunity of being governor of our state for five years and later became a Minister for almost four years.

“Yet there is no outstanding, positive legacy to his name. In Bayelsa, he is infamously remembered for profligacy, mismanagement of our resources, encouraging cultism and creating a special security outfit that was anti-people. Having governed the state, it is easier to compare and contrast. Governor Douye Diri stands far above him in governance.

“It is equally as preposterous for Sylva to talk about gas utilisation for power. As a Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, how well did he or the administration under which he served utilise gas to provide power for Nigerians?

“The country is still largely in darkness with the national grid collapsing frequently. So, this is mere political talk that cannot sway anybody conversant with the power sector in the country.”

The governor noted that it was also not true that the previous government sold the state’s gas turbine, saying instead that Sylva allowed the turbine to collapse during his administration and then brought the state under the national grid.

He wondered: “If the turbine was functional, would there have been need for the state to be connected to the national grid at that time?

“Now the governor he accuses of incompetence and lack of vision has not only commenced rehabilitation of the gas turbine but he is also increasing its capacity from 70mw to 120mw in addition to building of a smart pre-paid metering plant.

“If the APC candidate says Yenagoa does not look like a state capital, the question he should answer is what was his inputs as governor for five years to change the face of the capital city? Is it not funny that he blames a man that has just spent three-and-a-half years as governor when he had no outstanding legacy to show in Yenagoa for a longer period?

“Development is a process and Governor Diri understands this. That is why he has continued with projects inherited from previous administrations in the state, including completing the Nembe Unity Bridge in Sylva’s hometown that he abandoned.

“So far, Bayelsans know and feel the impact of the Diri administration and they will not be swayed by Sylva’s political talk.”

• ’Project sum overbloated’

The Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate in Bayelsa State, Udengs Eradiri, has queried  Governor Douye Diri’s claims that he used N30 billion to complete ongoing 10.2km phase two of the Glory Drive dual carriageway.

Eradiri wondered how the road, which was almost completed by former Governor Seriake Dickson, could still cost such an outrageous amount of money.

He recalled that while former Governor Timipre Sylva completed the clearing component of the project, his successor, Dickson carried out the sand-filling aspect, while Diri was only expected to asphalt it.

The candidate, who spoke at his  Yenagoa  home yesterday after receiving officials of the US Consulate-General led by the consulate’s Political/Economic Section’ Chief, Mr. Mike Elvin, said the implication was that Diri spent N3billion to built each kilometre of the road.

Describing Diri’s administration as lacking in transparency and accountability, Eradiri asked the governor to disclose the total cost of other projects he started that can boost his chances at the poll.

Eradiri said:  “Is this N30billion part of the money that was spent from inception or this is the one they just used to tar that road? If the latter is the case, it means that one kilometre is N3bn.

“There is a huge fraud going on here. Somebody needs to explain to Bayelsans how in ten kilometers, you spent N30 billion, on a road you did not sand-fill.

Read Also: Why Diri deserved second term, by CPS Alabrah

“Sand-filling of that road was done by Governor Dickson. I have strong reservations about that amount spent on that road. The Governor should also tell us all the roads, how much did you spend?

“Tell us, the Nembe-Brass road, how much have you earmarked? How much have you mobilized? When is it going to be concluded; whether it is in your tenure or not? You tell us because these are projections that are made in every project.

“For the governor to tell us that he spent N30bn on a ten kilometer road, something is fundamentally wrong.

“If you tell us that you spent N30bn in that place, then we need to know how much you spent in Ekeremor for a road that was practically done by the former administration.

“This clarity needs to be done for us to know who we are dealing with. If we have somebody who is squandering our resources, they should come and tell us.”

“There has to be accountability in Bayelsa because the monies that have come to the state are not commensurate to the said projects.

“The road to Southern Ijaw is one lane; in this modern day, who is building one lane road? The road to the Brass they are talking about with the potential of Brass and the blue economy. It is one very narrow lane.

Traditional rulers representing the four constituencies of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State have passed a vote of confidence in Governor Douye Diri. He is  their preferred candidate in the November 11 governorship election in the state.

The monarchs said their decision was premised on the governor’s manifest love for Southern Ijaw by bringing development to their area.

They added that it was time to reciprocate his gesture.

Read Also: Bayelsa guber: Diri is our choice, say Southern Ijaw monarchs

Speaking on behalf of the traditional rulers at Angiama  after inspecting the ongoing Yenagoa-Oporoma road, the paramount ruler of Enewari community and Chairman, Southern Ijaw Paramount Rulers Council, Chief Job Dairus, said the Southern Ijaw people were particularly pleased with the governor for the road, which has reached advanced stages of construction.

He described the road as a big-ticket project and lauded Governor Diri for the courage to carry on with it despite the project being on the drawing board for over 60 years.

Also, the council spokesman, Dr. Koko Sample, said they were overwhelmed by the progress of work on the Yenagoa-Oporoma road, saying it is a testament to the fact that Diri was committed to the development of the area.

Dr. Sample said contrary to propaganda, the road project was going on well and that soon, vehicles will get to the local government headquarters, Oporoma, and other communities.