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  • HOSTCOM to Diri: account for 13% derivation

    HOSTCOM to Diri: account for 13% derivation

    The leadership of Host Communities (HOSTCOM), Bayelsa State chapter, has called on Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri to account for the 13 per cent derivation fund he had received since he assumed office, how it was expended and its impact on the oil production communities.

    HOSTCOM, which insisted that its demand was in line with the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act, regretted the alleged misapplication of the 13 per cent derivation that had accrued to the state from successive administrations to date.

    It said the infrastructure development of the oil and gas producing communities in the state had been arrested and the people’s sufferings had remained unattended to.

    The HOSTCOM in a statement yesterday by the Bayelsa State Chairman, Pastor Samson Graham Dabbey and the Secretary, Mr. Cool Kwomo Christopher, urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to withhold forthwith the monthly release of the 13 per cent derivation accruing to Bayelsa from September 2023.

    The statement said: “With the passage of the FOI Act in Nigeria by the National Assembly and the assent by the President, it is expected that the Nigerian FOI Act will foster freedom of the press, provide greater opportunity for investigative journalism and promote the good tenets of democracy such as transparency and government’s accountability to the people.”

    “In line with the FOI Act, we demand a detailed account of how the 13 per cent that had accrued to the states is spent, vis-a-vis its impact in the oil and gas producing communities in the state.

    Read Also:Bayelsa poll: Sylva will defeat Diri, others to become governor, Youth group declares

    “We make bold to say that owing to the misapplication of the 13 per cent Derivation Fund that has accrued to the state from successive administrations to date wherein the infrastructural development of the oil and gas producing communities (being the target communities of the Fund) being arrested and the suffering of the people had continued to be unattended to up till the moment.

    “We are aware that the solution to this anomaly is only through the establishment of the Bayelsa State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (BASOPADEC) that the misapplication of the Fund would have been corrected in line with Section 162, Sub-Section (2) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended.

    “And it was to discuss this infraction on the continued misapplication of the Fund that HOSTCOM has put in much effort in trying to meet and commune in-person with Governor Douye Diri but without success.

    “In what follows, we have officially laid our concern on this subject in writing to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to withhold forthwith the monthly release of the 13 per cent Derivation Fund accruing to Bayelsa State from September 2023.

    “As a result, we are constrained to resort to this constitutional and peaceful approach collectively and in good faith as an advocacy organisation in furtherance of our Article of Faith – to pursue the cause of the downtrodden host communities whose right to the 13 per cent Derivation Fund has been denied them for so long in this state (Bayelsa State).

    “Leadership is a sacred trust and transparency, accountability and selflessness are the hallmark which we seek for in all our leaders in Bayelsa State.”

  • Abiri championed judges’ uniform retirement age in Nigeria, says Diri

    Abiri championed judges’ uniform retirement age in Nigeria, says Diri

    Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, has described the late former Chief Judge of the state, Justice Kate Abiri, as an incorruptible, courageous and fearless jurist, who championed the cause for uniform retirement age for judges in the country.

    Diri said her advocacy resulted in the law that unified the retirement age of state and federal judges at 70 years.

    Unfortunately, he said the late Justice Abiri did not benefit from it as the President signed the bill into law after her retirement in January this year.

    The governor spoke during her funeral service on Saturday at Aleibiri community in Ekeremor Local Government Area of the state.

    Read Also:Diri rewards Oborududu, others for Africa Wrestling feats

    Diri said her death was a huge loss to Bayelsa as it had created a vacuum that will be difficult to fill.

    The governor stated that she would be remembered for her meritorious service to the state and Nigeria at large.

    Diri noted that the number of dignitaries at her funeral was a testament to the good life she lived.

    “For us, her demise is painful but I hope we all take solace in her worthy legacies and which we must all sustain,” he said.

    At the night of tributes held at the Chief DSP Alamieyeseigha Memorial Banquet Hall in Yenagoa on Thursday, Diri said the late CJ made impact nationally and that the Nigerian judiciary would always remember her courage and fearless attributes that stood her out among judges.

  • Diri rewards Oborududu, others for Africa Wrestling feats

    Diri rewards Oborududu, others for Africa Wrestling feats

    Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, has announced cash rewards to Olympic silver medalist, Blessing Oborududu, and other wrestlers from Bayelsa in the Nigerian contingent that participated in the 2023 Africa Wrestling Championships and the Africa Beach Games in Tunisia.

    Diri, who congratulated the athletes for their impressive performance, said they not only made the state proud but also the country as a whole.

    The governor particularly applauded Oborodudu, the world number two female wrestler and 13-time African champion, for her achievements.

    Read Also; Diri urges electoral commission on credible council poll

    Wrestlers who won gold in the senior category in the championships got N1.5m each, silver medalists N1m each and N700,000 each for bronze medalists.

    In the junior category, Diri rewarded gold medalists with N1m each and in the senior category of the Africa Beach Games, gold medalists received N1.5m each.

    The governor also motivated the coach of the state wrestling team, who is also a 14-time African wrestling champion, Victor Kodei, with the sum of N2m while non-medalists got N200,000 each.

    The governor said: “Bayelsa has comparative advantage in certain sports, and wrestling is one of them. We should also be doing well in the area of swimming.

    “Our athletes have again brought glory to Bayelsa and Nigeria and on behalf of the Prosperity Government, l congratulate you as champions in Nigeria and now in Africa.

    “You have all done well. Let me particularly single out Blessing Oborududu, who continues to make us proud. She is world number two female wrestler and we pray that you become number one before you retire.”

    Presenting the contingent to the championships, the President, Nigeria Wrestling Federation and Bayelsa State Commissioner for Youths and Sports Development, Daniel Igali, attributed their success to the motivation of the governor.

    Oburududu won a gold medal in the championship and the Beach Games, making her the 13-time African champion. She is also the first Nigerian to win a silver medal in wrestling at the Olympics.

    Also, Mercy Genesis won three gold medals in the senior category of the Africa Wrestling Championship, the African Beach Wrestling Championship as well as the Beach Games.

    Opuene Favour, Reuben Ana, Tarilayefa Bekefula also won gold, silver and bronze medals respectively in different categories in the championships.

  • Diri urges electoral commission on credible council poll

    Diri urges electoral commission on credible council poll

    Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri has urged the newly-sworn in commissioners of the Bayelsa State Independent Electoral Commission (BSIEC) to conduct free, fair and credible local government elections.

    Diri gave the advice yesterday at the swearing-in of three BSIEC commissioners inside the Executive Council Chambers of the Government House, Yenagoa.

    The commissioners are Chief Remember Ogbe, Chief Amafini Zipadou and Mr. Marshall Abraham, a lawyer.

    Read Also; Poll will liberate Bayelsa people, says Sylva

    They are all returning members of the commission.

    Diri said by their appointment, he had fulfilled the constitutional requirement of the electoral body.

    He said he expected the commission to be a truly unbiased umpire that would not be influenced even by the state government.

    The governor noted that preparations for the next local government election had started in earnest and urged the commission to conduct one of the best polls in the state.

    He said: “You are to conduct free, fair and credible local government election that will be acceptable to all political parties that are in contention.

    “Earlier, we inaugurated this commission with the chairman and a few other members. You are all returning members and do not necessarily need to be told your duties. Importantly, you are arbiters and so you are not to take sides.”

    Diri said the re-appointment of the three members was based “on your sterling performance in the commission and I urge you to remain committed and be above board in discharging your duties.”

  • Bayelsa election: Leave Gbajabiamila out of your frustration, I will defeat you, Sylva tells Diri

    Bayelsa election: Leave Gbajabiamila out of your frustration, I will defeat you, Sylva tells Diri

    The Bayelsa state governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Timipre Sylva, has said that the November 11 poll would not just be an election, but a liberation of ‘Bayelsans’ from the concentration camp the state has been reduced to.

    The immediate past minister of state for petroleum resources and the state leader of the APC urged the people of Bayelsa to remain strong, steadfast and hopeful, saying that the party is edging closer to a bright new day.

    He also warned Governor Douye Diri, his rival in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to leave the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, out of his frustration ahead of the November 11 governorship election.

    Sylva, in a statement on Tuesday, 29, by his special assistant on media and public affairs, Julius Bokoru, noted that his attention was drawn to a publication in one of the national dailies allegedly sponsored by Diri that he (Sylva) was behind attempts to blackmail Gbajabiamila in a bid to influence some federal board appointments and weaken the CoS.

    He described the publication which also alleged that he was trying to influence the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) postings in Bayelsa state to the APC’s favour as “the job of scavenging mercenaries.”

    He said it was curious that “the poorly-worded piece” had none of the national paper’s team of journalists he described as among the best in the country on it.

    Sylva said instead an ambiguous “Our Reporter” was credited as the author of the report, creating instant impressions that the “black-market publication may have slipped through the paper’s very professional management.”

    He said: “The publication is false and is as sordid as the depressed minds of its sponsors. Sylva’s democratic records are there for all to see. He is no cynic, nor is he one to seek victory or political success through illegitimate means. Sylva’s sincerity, patriotism and passion for progress has been his spur in what has now become a stellar journey of service.

    “It is worrying that the Bayelsa State Government, prompted by a certain politician would abandon its duty of governance and delve into low-rate, lethargic propaganda, procured, very painfully, by tax payers monies of the state.

    “Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila is a true party man, a well-spoken academic, a fine man of grand qualities and a true friend and ally of Chief Sylva, this recent attempt at sowing seeds of discord between Sylva and the Chief of Staff to the President is an exercise in futility”

    Read Also: PDP blames Sylva for attacks on Bayelsa community

    Sylva said President Ahmed Bola Tinubu would appoint competent hands into vacant positions, as he had done in the recently sworn-in cabinet members in his drive to industrialise and open up Nigeria to greater laps of progress and peace”.

    The statement said: “Sylva is also not the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC); it is therefore not in his place to move INEC staff around the country. That aspect of the publication is also another lie paid for by the Bayelsa State government.

    “The ongoing blitzkrieg of propaganda against Sylva is a symptom of the current administration’s cluelessness and edginess, cast in between a failed run and an integrity test at the polls. The state government has switched to survival mode by lying, scheming, intimidating and liquidating the state treasury in managing its sweeping rejections by the people.

    “November 11 is not just an election, but a liberation of Bayelsans from the concentration camp such a great state has been reduced to. Sylva urges Bayelsans to remain tall and strong, steadfast and hopeful as we are edging closer to a bright, new day.”

  • I ‘ll win 80% of votes in Nov poll, Diri boasts 

    I ‘ll win 80% of votes in Nov poll, Diri boasts 

    Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri, has boasted that he would win 80 per cent of the total votes in the November 11 governorship election.

    Diri, who is seeking re-election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), spoke yesterday at the Abuja national secretariat of the PDP.

    The governor said he would win despite the proverbial federal might, adding, however, that the PDP would not take the federal might for granted. 

    Governor Diri spoke against the backdrop of his main opponent, Chief Timipre Sylva, who is contesting on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Read Also: Two dead, 37 rescued in Abuja building collapse

    Diri said: “One thing I would like to point out is that the election we are going into is an election that everyone has said that we believe we have won. 

    “On ground like everyone has attested to, it is like 80-20 per cent election. But we will not take it for granted because somebody is boasting that whether the people like it or not he is going to win.

    “That means he (Sylva) is standing on a stone and we must remove that stone from under him, that is all that the PDP needs to do. 

    “But there is a popular saying in my place that when a blind man tells you that he is going to stone you, it means that he is standing on top of a stone. 

    “I am not sure that there will be any federal might for a candidate that has been roundly rejected by the people. The federal government is also not a government that will be anti- democracy.

    “The federal government will stand to defend democracy. We are in a democratic system and I believe that if we work well and we do not take it for granted, we have already won. But it is not over until it is over.

    “So let us not take our opponents, especially of the APC for granted. In Bayelsa, I will like to let you know that this election is across party line. So we are not going there to deride the APC”.

    The event was the inaugural meeting of members of the PDP Campaign Council for Bayelsa State. 

  • I will protect Bayelsa’s interest, says Diri

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, has promised to protect the interest of the state, if elected.

    He promised to pay bursaries to students in tertiary institutions. Diri, who spoke while interacting with students of the Ijaw National Academy (INC), in Kaiama, Kolokuma-Opokuma, during a programme organised by the Alfred Kemepado-led Bayelsa Forward Movement (BFM), said, the payment would depend on improvement in the economy.

    Most tertiary students in the state have urged government to pay them busaries. But, Diri, who fielded questions from the students at the main hall of the school, noted that Dickson at the commencement of his administration paid bursaries, but was compelled to stop the scheme due to the economic downturn.

    He said: “We will explore the possibility of granting scholarships to the best students from this school and other schools. University education is expensive. Some of us while in the university enjoyed some level of scholarship. In our days it was called bursary.

    “We will pay some levels of bursaries to our students in tertiary institutions. We know that the sitting government also did it until there was a downturn in the economy of Nigeria. Because we are people faith, we are believing that by the time we are coming in the economy will be better off and there will be more resources available for us to do that.”

    Diri said to consolidate in the academy, founded by Dickson, he would introduce vocational studies and skill acquisition scheme to raise successful entrepreneurs in the state if elected at the poll. He added: “Our plan for education is to consolidate and if we are going to consolidate on Ijaw National Academy, the issues here is that even when you graduate, there is no job. Some of you when you get into the school, you are misinformed or misdirected and some of you via into some social vices.

    “We want to raise entrepreneurs. We want to bring you up not only as lawyers and politicians, but we want to see our children who are coming up to be like Dangote. We want you to be big time businessmen and women. That is the revolution that we will add to the already existing one.

  • I will succeed Dickson, says Diri

    Senator Douye Diri is the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Bayelsa State. In this interview with Victor Oluwasegun, the lawmaker representing Bayelsa Central District speaks on the politics of succession, his plans for the state and preparations for the November 16 poll.

    Your slogan is: Prosperity 2020. Why did you chose the phrase?

    Yes, there is. Once upon a time, the state was ravaged by locusts.

    Real locusts or figuratively speaking?

    Figuratively. Locusts. The sitting governor now came in with restoration. All that the cankerworm and locusts had eaten were restored and moving further, after restoration, we’re talking about prosperity.

    It has a Biblical connotation …

    It’s biblical, and also due to the sequence of events that has happened in our state, that’s why we have tagged our own prosperity; moving from the restoration that has already been done. So, we want to move beyond that to a prosperous Bayelsa.

    You were a teacher, National Organising Secretary of Ijaw National Congress, Youth and Sports Commissioner, member of the House of Representatives and Senate. Now, your want to governor. What is the driving force?

    Service. That’s why you cannot associate me with hundreds of millions and billions being stolen. And so, it has been service, service, service. In fact, when I was in the Ijaw National Congress. There was nothing like salary. Then, we worked assiduously to make sure that Bayelsa State was created. So, for me, the driving force is the environment I find myself and how to change that environment  so that we can bequeath a better environment to our children. That’s the driving force.

    So, what distinguishes you from the others?

    Well, you just enumerated my rise and how I’ve served over the years. I have also been a follower over the years, because for you to be a good leader, you must also be a good follower. I’ve followed and I’ve served and I believe that, out of all of them, just a few of us have the experience of the executive arm of government and the legislative arm of government. Today, the governor of Bayelsa has done so well and stabilised the rampant impeachments that were  going on in the  Bayelsa House of Assembly because of his background of being in the legislature and the executive. He is a former commissioner also. I believe these are selling points for me. I also believe that my involvement in the development of the  Ijaw race and the issues of the environmental despoliation of the Ijaw territory vis-a-vis the international oil companies, IOCs, had also opened me up to go in there and see what we can do to bring back our environment and ensure that poverty is reduced. Because we’re like the people inside water and yet soap is getting into our eyes and we cannot get the water to wash our eyes. Some other people are receiving all that is coming out from our land.

    Would you say you’re one of those people canvassing for the restructuring of the country?

    I’m one of the people canvassing for the restructuring. I was a member of the Constitutional Amendment Committee, while I was serving in the House of Representatives, representing Bayelsa State on that committee. And part of what we pushed then, was to ensure that the Land Use Act was amended, because that is robbing Peter to pay Paul. Taking our resources to the federal and then, giving us peanuts. And then, they will ask us why we’re not satisfied with the peanuts that has been given to us. You take one hundred percent of our resources and give us 13 percent. It happens only in Nigeria, not anywhere in the world.

    So, what were you angling for then?

    We were pushing for the amendment of the Land Use Act, together with the Amendment of the year The other two went through, the NYSC Act and the Securities Act went through, but the Land Use Act never saw the light of the day. We did that at our committee level. It went through, but by the time we came to the National Assembly to vote, we were voted out. And that is the reason we’re fighting for the restructuring of this country.

    You were the Commissioner for Youths and Sports. What were your achievements?

    I didn’t start it from being commissioner, I was he Organising Secretary of the Ijaw National Congress. And as a youth, we mobilised our people towards resource control and  the stark realities of our land. And from there, I moved on to be the Executive Secretary, Centre for Youth Development, before I became the Commissioner for Youths and Sports. So, it’s been a lot, mostly to mobilise our youths towards the stark realities that are facing us and to overcome them. On resource control, there is no federalism where resource are taken from one place and then brought to the centre to be shared on monthly basis. And so, I would say that we have been able to motivate and mobilize our people to the realities of our situation and see what we can do to overcome them.

    I don’t know what the position of Bayelsa state is on Ruga…

    The position is a total no! The present governor has said  it over and over, times without number  that there is no land in Bayelsa. You know we’re an amphibious  people. Our land is criss-crossed by rivers and rivulets, and of course, were by the Atlantic Ocean. So, where would we have land to go and do Ruga. So, that is totally out of the question.

    I wanted to speak on the issue of security. Recently, a deputy governor’s convoy was attacked and four policemen were killed. What does that say on he state of insecurity in the country, and the response of the federal government to it.

    Well, I’m not a social critic, I’m a legislator, and if you follow us, from the 8th Assembly, you’ll know that that was one of the selling points that the 8th assembly had drawn the attention of the whole country, drawn the attention of the executive to the level of insecurity in Nigeria. The security Chiefs were invited severally. In fact, the House at a point spoke of firing all the security chiefs. So, we’re all feeling the level of insecurity.  I feel that the only way is to restructure this country. You cannot call a governor the chief security officer of a state. He’s not in control of the police or the army. He’s not in control of anything. He’s a security officer nominally. Just a nominal security officer. And the only way is to restructure it. Let the governors in their own domain, at their own level, appropriate some powers on security. So that you can actually hold them responsible when there is a level of insecurity. But, as of today, every bit of insecurity, the blame is on the federal government.

    People say for you to have an accelerated rise in politics, you need to have a godfather. Do you believe that?

    Well, you see, it depends on how you look at it. There is no politician that is an island. Every politician develops and as you’re growing, there are those on top to pull you up. So, if such people are described as godfathers, so be it. And then, there are those who don’t understand the terrain of politics. They’re just outside criticising politicians. I invite them to come in and take over leadership. There are some of them that criticise destructively, but there are also those who constructively criticise. While I don’t succumb to somebody being a godfather to cause underdevelopment, I also will not agree to those that say in politics, you’re totally on your own. Because it’s more of a teamwork. For instance, I want to go be the governor of Bayelsa State. Alone, how do I do that. So, you need the good, the bad and the ugly.

  • Diri: PDP will retain power in Bayelsa

    The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, on Thursday said that the party will win the November election.

    He urged the chieftains to gird their loins ahead of the exercise, saying victory is assured if they work in unity.

    He thanked the delegates who elected him at the primary, assuring that he will not disappoint them and the people of the state.

    Diri said in a statement by his campaign organisation that the party will soon embark on campaigns in the eight local governments.

    He said: “We are humbled and elated by the massive show of solidarity and the sacrifices made by the delegates to ensure that the distinguished Senator emerges victorious in what has gone down as the most competitive governorship primary in the state.

    “Our heartfelt gratitude also goes to our amiable leader, His Excellency the Honourable Henry Seriake Dickson, Governor of Bayelsa State for his display of uncommon political leadership and sagacity.

    Diri added: “Let us also commend the national leadership of our party and the Governor Darius Ishaku led committee for a job well done, especially for allowing a level playing field.

    “We also appreciate PDP leaders and stakeholders, women, youths and Bayelsans for their support, prayers and wise counsel since we began this journey to move our state to greater heights.

    We acknowledge the efforts of other aspirants who gave their best shot for the ticket. Our victory is a collective one so we enjoin them as true party men to stand with us as we move closer to make this project a reality.

    “In the days ahead, we shall storm communities across the eight local government areas to present to our people what we are bringing to the table in the next four years.

    “It is going to be an interesting voyage as we intend to use the opportunity to discuss facts on competence, prosperity of our people and stable governance as a whole.”