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  • Bayelsa Guber Poll: Diri, Sylva, 12 others sign peace accord

    Bayelsa Guber Poll: Diri, Sylva, 12 others sign peace accord

    Ahead of the forthcoming  guber election in Bayelsa state, Candidates of different political parties in the state on Wednesday signed  a peace accord pledging to ensure a peaceful and violence free election.

    The peace accord signing ceremony held at Lady Diama Memorial event centre, Yenagoa, had the Bayelsa State Governor and Flagbearer of Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) the candidate of All Progressives Congress, (APC), and fourteen others in attendance.

    The event was facilitated by the National Peace Committee, in conjunction with Kukah Centre.

    The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Bishop Matthew Kukah, who presided over the peace forum, enjoined the people of the state to imbibe a tolerant disposition during the poll to engender a peaceful and credible exercise.

    Kukah, who represented the National Chairman of the National Peace Committee, NPC, Gen Abdulsalami Abubakar, said: “I want to enjoin you and call upon you to please ensure that we all imbibe the spirit that only the living can participate in politics, and enjoy the dividends of democracy.

    “Our prayer and our hope is that this election will go on peacefully. I want to add my voice, vote to stay alive, vote to see a great Bayelsa and Nigeria.

    “It will be a terrible tragedy for anybody to lose his life or to be hospitalized. Let’s conduct ourselves in a way and manner that will finally make the judiciary which has become the subject of law of litigation redundant. And the only way we can do this is to conduct free, fair and credible election.”

    Meanwhile, indication that the peace accord may be violated emerged when the frontline gladiators, Douye and Sylva, spoke with journalists shortly after the ceremony.

    Both candidates traded accusations and counter accusation of plots to undermine the peace accord.

    Diri said: “Generally Nigerians are seeing this as an election ritual because a lot of politicians do not keep to it. So it is just a ritual, we come and sign and the bad politicians among us will continue the violence.

    “I have just been informed that the former governor of the state who you interviewed has accused me (Douye Diri of stockpiling arms in Kolokuma-Opokuma. That should be the fattest lie of the year and that shows that this peace accord is going to be ineffectual. Because if a man chooses to be telling lies even in the face of this peace accord, then something is wrong in our polity.

    “I am really embarrassed when I got that information. Everybody knows in this state those who are given to violence and the flash red point and I think that the candidate of the APC, Chief Timipre Sylva may have stockpiled arms in Kolokuma-Opokuma and I have called on the security agencies to immediately swing into action to see if Timipre Sylva is bringing the devilish actions he has been taking in Nembe where he has disallowed the people of Nembe to participate in democratic electoral peaceful process.

    “And we in Kolokuma will never accept that from him, I am one person that all of you will at least know that the peace in this state is because the body language of the governor is peaceful. The body language of the governor is security and so the issue of my commitment does not arise here.”

    Sylva had earlier said: “The APC today has come to demonstrate that we are committed to peace in Bayelsa State but we must say that we are not very comfortable with the disposition of our opponent.

    “There has been a lot of violence perpetrated by PDP in Kolokuma-Opokuma and this morning, I was told that they were stoking violence in other places. But am happy that the peace accord will make all of us to stand back. I think it is a very important step that we have taken.

    “For us in APC we are very happy that this is happening because we have always stood for peace and we hope that other parties will also obey and abide by the peace accord.

    “Having signed it, we believe that it will at least jolt everybody not to do what they have planned to do because we hear all kind of plans of thugs being imported from all over the place, Rivers and Delta to Bayelsa.”

  • Why Bayelsans will reelect me – Diri declares

    Why Bayelsans will reelect me – Diri declares

    Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, has declared that the Bayelsa people will re-elect him for a second tenure on the basis of his first term performance.

    Addressing a mammoth crowd at the carnival-like grand finale of his campaign at the Oxbow Lake Pavilion in Yenagoa on Tuesday, Governor Diri said his administration completed projects he inherited and equally embarked on his own projects in a terrain his opponent in the All Progressives Congress (APC) described as difficult.

    The Bayelsa governor said: “They say we only completed projects that we inherited. But the Unity Bridge in Nembe, where my APC opponent hails from and which he abandoned, was constructed and completed by my administration.

    “Today, one of the best dual carriage roads in Yenagoa, the Glory Drive, for which they collected money in billions and abandoned, has been completed and inaugurated by my administration.”

    Diri, who stated that the APC candidate, Chief Timipre Sylva, was governor for five years but had no achievements to campaign with except fake promises, said his administration had been in the saddle for about four years and was rolling out projects he inherited and initiated

    “Today, we are all witnesses to the fact that there is peace and security and we can all sleep with our eyes closed.”

    Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Bayelsa Governorship National Campaign Council, Dr. Agbu Kefas, who is also governor of Taraba State, described Diri as a symbol of peace, development and prosperity.

    Governor Kefas said his Bayelsa colleague has demonstrated through his projects and programmes that he was concerned about the welfare and wellbeing of his people.

    Also, former Speaker of the House of Representatives and two-term governor of Sokoto State, Senator Aminu Tambuwal, who spoke who spoke on behalf of his colleagues in the National Assembly, attested to the examplary character and capacity of Diri.

    Acting PDP National Chairman, Amb. Umar Damagum, presented the party’s flag to Diri and his running mate, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo.

    Damagum noted that PDP was the only party that had given the state and South-South zone the opportunity to produce president of the country in Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, saying that Bayelsans should reciprocate the gesture by voting the party again in this Saturday’s election.

    Former PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, said former Dr. Jonathan’s and the Ijaw nation’s endorsement of Diri and Ewhrudjakpo were indication of the governor’s victory.

    Speaking on behalf of the PDP governors, Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, described Diri as a humble and focused personality that is determined to reposition the state.

    In his remarks, former Bayelsa governor, Senator Seriake Dickson, stated that he is solidly behind the re-election of his successor and his deputy, and called on Bayelsans to vote for them again.

    He stated that Diri had done very well in development of the state, having built on his achievements and embarking on his own projects.

    In a goodwill message , immediate past governor of Delta State and running mate to the PDP candidate in the 2023 presidential election, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, applauded the unity in the state, saying that the presence of Dickson, Chief Timi Alaibe and others at the campaign rally showed that the PDP had a formidable front to win the election.

    Other dignitaries at the well-attended event included Governors Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta) and Umo Eno (Akwa Ibom) as well as Senators Benson Agadaga, Konbowei Benson, Ned Nwoko and James Manager.

    In attendance were also House of Representatives members including Dr Fred Agbedi, Mrs. Marie Ebikake, Oforji Oboku, Johnbull Shekarau, Tajudeen Obasa, Dr. Segun Adekola, and Dr Timothy Golu as well as former Reps members Kabir Ajanah and Olayonu Danladi.

    Also were Speaker of the Bayelsa House of Assembly, Abraham Ingobere, his

    Delta State counterpart, Emomotimi Guwor and members of the Bayelsa Assembly.

    The PDP National Vice Chairman, South-South, Chief Dan Orbih, the Board of Trustees and the National Working Committee members and the immediate past South-South Vice Chairman of the party, Elder Emma Ogidi, and former Presidential Adviser and Chairman, Presidential Amnesty Programme, Dr. Kingsley Kuku, also attended.

  • Bayelsa poll: Court hears fresh suit to stop Diri’s governorship bid

    Bayelsa poll: Court hears fresh suit to stop Diri’s governorship bid

    Less than nine days to the Bayelsa governorship election, a fresh suit seeking the disqualification of Gov. Douye Diri and his deputy, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, has commenced at a Federal High Court (FHC), Abuja.

    The suit, presently before Justice Emeka Nwite, sought an order of mandatory injunction, directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to remove the names of Diri and Ewhrudjakpo as PDP’s candidates in the Nov. 11 poll.

    It also sought an order of perpetual injunction restraining INEC, its agents, privies or whosoever called, from further publishing their names as standard bearers for the party in the forthcoming election in Bayelsa.

    The suit, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1448/23 and filed by a Bayelsan woman, Blessing Clement Azibanagbal, through her lawyer, Ifeanyi Nsowu, further sought a declaration that Ewhrudjakpo was not qualified to run as deputy governor under the PDP.

    Azibanagbal, in the originating summons dated Oct. 26 and filed on Oct. 30, sought a declaration that Ewhrudjakpo was also not qualified to be a running mate with Diri.

    Besides, she prayed the court to declare that Ewhrudjakpo had multiple of names without any evidence to proof “that he is the same person.”

    She, therefore, urged the court to declare that the PDP had no candidate in the poll.

    The suit, which was brought under Rule 3, Order 9 of the FHC Civil Procedure Rules, 2019, sought “a declaration that the 3rd defendant (PDP) does not have any qualified candidate to run for the governorship election in Bayelsa.”

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Gov. Diri, Ewhrudjakpo, PDP and INEC are 1st to 4th defendants respectively in the matter

    Raising five issues for determination, Azibanagbal asked whether a first school living certificate holder can run for governorship election of a state in line with provision of 1999 Constitution.

    “Whether the failure of the 1st (Diri);and 3rd defendants (PDP) to provide a candidate that has the qualification to run for the governorship of a state can be a ground to disqualify both candidates.

    “Whether a candidate with multiple names without any evidence to substantiate the names can contest for governorship election in a state.

    “Whether the 2nd defendant (Ewhrudjakpo), submitting only his first school living certificate in his Form EC9 submitted with INEC qualifies him to contest election as deputy governor of Bayelsa State.

    “Considering issues 1 to 4 above, whether this honourable ¢court has jurisdiction to order the 4th defendant to remove the names of 1st and 2nd defendants as candidates in the forthcoming governorship election in Bayelsa State,” it read.

    In the affidavit in support of the originating summons deposed to by Yenle Istifanus, a litigation secretary with Compendium Chambers, the lawyer said she knew as a fact that Azibanagbal, who hails from Bayelsa and as a good citizen of Nigeria, had the locus standi (legal right) to institute the action.

    She said though Diri and Ewhrudjakpo submitted their Form EC9 in INEC which empowered them to contest in the poll, Istifanus said this must be strictly in line with a constitutional provision for qualifications for a person to run for the office of a governor and deputy governor of a state.

    The lawyer, who averred that failure to comply with the said qualification amounted to disqualification of the said candidate, stated that all the documents submitted by Ewhrudjakpo “bear different names with no substantial evidence to substantiate that he is the same person in the said documents.”

    “That I know as a fact that failure of the 2nd defendant to produce documents that bear the same names disqualifies him to contest as a deputy governor of a state,” she said.

    She said it would be in the interest of justice to grant the application as the defendants would not be prejudiced.

    Nwosu, in an ex-parte motion seeking a leave to serve Diri and Ewhrudjakpo at the Government House in Bayelsa, through courier service, moved the application on Friday.

    The suit, which was the only matter in the Friday’s cause list, was heard at the judge’s chamber.

    However, gathered that Justice Nwite granted the prayer.

    He subsequently adjourned the matter until Nov. 30 for hearing.

    NAN

  • Bayelsa: You can’t take credit for Dickson’s efforts, Sylva tells Diri

    Bayelsa: You can’t take credit for Dickson’s efforts, Sylva tells Diri

    The Governorship Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa, Chief Timipre Sylva, on Tuesday said Ex-Gov. Seriake Dickson of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) deserves credit for his work on the Sagbama-Ekeremor road project.

    Sylva applauded Dickson, who is now Senator representing Sagbama/Ekeremor at the National Assembly, for taking a road to Ekeremor Local Government Area of the state after over 40 years.

    Sylva was received by a jubilant crowd when he drove on the road to Ekeremor for his ongoing campaign for the governorship election, slated for Nov. 11.

    He said it was absurd for the incumbent Governor, Douye Diri, to try to take credit for the road constructed by his predecessor.

    He said: “We are grateful to former Gov. Dickson for executing this very vital road. He has written his name in Gold and left a legacy that would speak for him through time.

    “We must give credit to who deserves it and that accolade must go to Dickson. It is a sign of ingratitude for Gov. Douye Diri to appropriate the road to himself”.

    Sylva also hailed the people of Ekeremor for their overwhelming warm reception accorded him when he campaigned in the area ahead of the poll.

    He wondered why Diri had developed the habit of re-inaugurating projects executed by his predecessor without making any reference to former Gov. Dickson.

    He observed that without the sacrifices, hard work and foresight of Dickson, Diri would not have become a governor.

    He recalled that Diri failed the popularity test in 2019 when he was roundly beaten by the APC, predicting that he would fail again in November.

    The former Governor appealed to Ekeremor people to keep faith with him, saying that he would fulfill all the promises he made to them when elected in November.

    It will be recalled the former Gov. Dickson had taken to Sagbama-Ekeremor road project to Ekeremor but the 2022 flood destroyed sections of the road, which Gov. Diri fixed.

    Diri had in his own campaign in the area claimed that he reconstructed the damaged sections, including bridges earlier done by his predecessor and pledged to extend the road to Agge where the state plans to site a seaport.

  • Bayelsa 2023: Heavy ‘wahala’ for Sylva as Lokpobiri, Lyon dump him, adopt Diri

    Bayelsa 2023: Heavy ‘wahala’ for Sylva as Lokpobiri, Lyon dump him, adopt Diri

    The All Progressives Congress Party (APC) seems to be in disarray in Bayelsa State as the party is divided ahead of the November 11th, 2023 governorship election in the state.

    As at the last count, about 10 political parties are battling for the number one position in the state.

    But political analysts are of the view that the fight for the soul of Bayelsa state is between Governor Douye Diri, who is seeking re-election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former Minister of State for Petroleum and former Governor of the state, Chief Timpreye Sylva.

    Governor Diri is said to be taking advantage of the in house fighting in APC to warm his ways to the hearts of the people one more time and working round the clock to bring members of the divided APC in the state to join forces with him in order to secure his second term in office.

    The aggrieved members of the APC in the state may jump ship soon and endorse Governor Diri and dump Chief Sylva.

    A probe into this development revealed that Governor Diri has contacted big wigs in the APC, especially those the former Minister of state for Petroleum and ex- governor of the oil rich state, Chief Sylva may have stepped on their toes, including the Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, and 2019 governorship candidate, David Lyon, into his camp.

    A reliable source revealed that Lokpobiri and Lyon are secretly working for the reelection of Governor Diri.

    The duo has axe to grind with Chief Sylvia and have stayed away from the campaigns and political activities of the former governor in the build-up to the next month governorship election in the State.

    The probe further revealed that all efforts to resolve the lingering crisis in the divided Bayelsa APC by the National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje, and other top leaders of the party proved abortive.

    Our source disclosed that Governor Diri is taking advantage of the situation to further divide the opposition ranks by giving a lot of concessions ahead of the poll.

    The source claimed that the governor has promised to hand over to Lokpobiri as governor, with Lyon as deputy governor, if both of them duo can fully dump Sylva and join forces with him to win the November 11th governorship election in the state.

    According to our source; Governor Diri has not only conceded 50 slots of Senior Special Assistants (SSAs) each to Lokpobiri and Lyon, he has also promised them some measures of influence on decision making”.

    “This unholy alliance between the governor and APC top chieftains implies that the two may have to defect to the PDP after Lokpobiri has served his term as minister in the Tinubu administration ahead of the battle to succeed Diri in 2026”, our source added.

    But our source alleged that Governor Diri is threatened by the cold attitude of his predecessor, Senator Seriake Dickson, who has stayed away from his administration and likely not to give him the needed support.

    It is being speculated that the former governor and his camp nurse a feeling of alienation and marginalization and efforts by the PDP national leadership to broker truce has not seen the light of day.

    Senator Dickson was said to be not comfortable that Governor Diri was going about his reelection especially with the opposition elements without carrying him along.

    According to our source, apart from Lokpobiri, Lyon and other members of the APC family, Governor Diri has equally reached to other big wigs in his party, PDP.

    The governor, our source disclosed, has also promised Senator Benson Agadaga (Bayelsa East) the succession opportunity.

    Senator Agadaga is from Ogbia, the base of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

    “Diri is promising succession across party lines by making overtures to APC and PDP. He also promised the Director General of his campaign council, Hon. Mitema Obodor, who is a member of the House of Representatives, representing Ogbia Constituency of succession. So, also is Robert Enogha, a former commissioner and two-time member of the Bayelsa State House of Assembly, who also hails from Ogbia”, the source said.

    “The three of them, Governor Diri has made succession promises to – Obodor; Agadaga and Enogha, are all of Goodluck Jonathan’s stock in Ogbia. This succession promise for Ogbia guys was a deceitful plot to secure Dr. Jonathan blessing and support in the forthcoming November poll.

    “Surprisingly, former President Goodluck Jonathan has also fallen for the bait. He is supporting the reelection of Governor Diri because of dummy the governor has sold to him that one of his kinsmen from Ogbia is going to succeed him after his second term in office.”

  • ₦30bn for 10-km road: Gov. Diri, LP’s Eradiri trade tackles over alleged ‘lavish spending’

    ₦30bn for 10-km road: Gov. Diri, LP’s Eradiri trade tackles over alleged ‘lavish spending’

    The ₦30 billion spent on a 10.2-kilometre dual carriageway, recently inuagurated in Yenagoa, has pitched the Labour Party (LP) guber candidate, Udengs Eradiri against Gov. Douye Diri.

    The LP flagbearer in the Nov. 11 governorship poll, Mr Eradiri, had criticised Diri for using ₦30 billion only for the completion of the road that had been substantially finished by the previous administrations in Bayelsa.

    Eradiri’s query was how can the current administration in the state spend ad ₦30 billion to complete a road inherited at advanced state of completion?

    “This is outrageous and shows a lack of prudency with public funds by the Diri-led administration.

    But the Chief Press Secretary to Diri, Mr Daniel Alabrah, responded, saying that Eradiri lied because he was seeking to score cheap political points.

    Eradiri appealed to the state governor to address the facts around prudence, accountability and transparency he  raised in the road project.

    Eradiri’s questions in Yenagoa was in response to Diri’s statement criticising him for telling the public that the governor spent ₦30 billion to construct the 10.2-km phase two Glory Drive Road in Yenagoa, amounting to ₦3 billion per kilometre.

    Eradiri alleged that Diri dissipated his energy calling him a liar without justifying “the bogus figure”.

    Eradiri said: “The people of Bayelsa expected Gov. Diri to provide a contrary cost for the project, something lower than the N30 billion he allegedly spent.

    “Diri should come clean on the cost of all his projects,” he said, alleging that cost of these projects are usually shrouded in secrecy.

    “I challenge him to publish the costs of some of his projects, because it is the people’s money and the people deserve to know.

    “Transparency and accountability in governance are the foundation of trust in leadership.

    Diri, at the inauguration of the road project recently, put the cost of the 10.2- km road at N30 billion.

  • Bayelsa PDP youth leader, top aides to Gov. Diri dump PDP

    Bayelsa PDP youth leader, top aides to Gov. Diri dump PDP

    Some chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Bayelsa, including the party’s Youth Leader, Nunieh Odede, have dumped the party.

    Odede and others switched allegiance from Gov. Douye Diri to the Governorship Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Timipre Sylva, ahead of the November 11 poll in the state.

    In a handwritten letter sighted on Monday in Yenagoa, Odede announced his resignation from PDP while other principal aides of the governor also resigned their positions to campaign for Sylva.

    A statement signed on Monday by Sylva’s Special Adviser, Media and Publicity, Julius Bokoru, confirmed that Odede held a meeting with the APC governorship hopeful.

    Bokoru quoted Odede as saying at the meeting: “We have spent years with the PDP and we built the party to where it is.

    “It is imperative we move on now in the light of what is happening in the state.

    “Bayelsa is in comatose and we cannot keep doing the old things and expect to get it right.

    “Our resignation from PDP, honestly, is to save our dear state from further ruins.”

    The statement also quoted Sylva to have commended the courage of Odede and other defectors, who chose the progress and development of the state over selfish gains.

    According to the statement, Sylva said: “Youths are always the driving force of every society, youths also embody and give a trajectory of what the future would look like.

    “Your decisions today is heroic and selfless.

    “You have placed state over self and beyond even the elections.

    “You instil in us all that Bayelsa state is bound to do well”.

    The statement listed those who defected from PDP to APC to include the Director, Bayelsa State Evironmental Authority, Abiah Oyisor, the Governor’s Representative, Yenegoa Local Government Area, Ayaye Obuma.

    The other aides to the governor were Itu Goodluck, Timipa Ile
    and Olali.

    Bokoru also stated that the defectors would be formally received with thousands of their supporters at a formal endorsement ceremony.

    He added that the defection further dimished Diri’s chances of winning Yenagoa, the capital city, especially the Epie/Atissa kingdoms, where he claimed that Sylva was making significant inroad.

    The statement also confirmed that the APC Deputy Governorship Candidate, Joshua Maciver, recently received thousands of defectors from Sagbama LGA and the home of Diri’s Deputy Governor, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo.

  • Bayelsa LP candidate faults Diri’s last minutes appointments

    Bayelsa LP candidate faults Diri’s last minutes appointments

    Mr Udengs Eradiri, the Bayelsa Labour Party (LP) Candidate for the Nov.11 election has faulted Gov. Douye Diri’s last minutes appointments and hiring of political appointees.

    Eradiri said this in a statement on Tuesday in Yenagoa.

    He said that the last minutes employment and hiring of political appointees was targeted at deceiving the electorate, ahead of the Nov.11 poll.

    Eradiri however, lauded the governor for appointing some political players from the LP in his desperate attempt to boost his chances at the poll.

    He alleged that the governor was working on plans to use some willing LP executives in the state to create false impression that the party had collapsed into the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    “What is coming on Nov. 11 is beyond party. It is a mass movement and a revolution against bad, incompetent and clueless government.

    “I am happy that LP has become a force to reckon with ahead of this poll and that my participation in the election as the candidate of the party is giving Diri a nightmare.

    “My involvement in the election has provided jobs for people, who ordinarily were not considered fit to work in the government of Diri. In the last three years, the governor did not consider rolling out jobs for people and engaging more political appointees.

    “But today, a few weeks to the election, Diri is hawking appointment letters as a strategy to boost his chances. Unknown to him, Bayelsa people are wiser now.

    They understand his game. Besides, he is not doing them any favour because the money is not owned by the governor. It belongs to the people,” he said.

    Eradiri added: “So, if he invites you, go and take , If he gives you a job, accept it and enjoy it while it lasts. But the truth is that this great state deserves a better alternative and should be rescued from the incompetence of this administration.”

    He said that such deceptive campaign method was used in the past but that those who thought they had secured jobs as appointees of the government were laid off after the poll.

    “Common sense will tell everybody that this is just a campaign strategy, which will fail woefully like a pack of cards. Diri has occupied the office for over three years but did not deem it fit to employ anybody.

    “But suddenly he woke up from his slumber a few weeks to another election and started hawking appointments.

    “It is only a bait to give the people false hope and subject them to making a decision against their will. The truth is that the process is designed to fail immediately after the election. We are calling on our people to be vigilant and not to be deceived,” he said.

  • AUTO CRASH: Oborevwori condoles Diri, Bayelsans

    AUTO CRASH: Oborevwori condoles Diri, Bayelsans

    Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta has sent a condolence message to his Bayelsa counterpart, Senator Douye Diri on the death of some members of the State’s contingent to the Nigerian Women Football League final.

    The Women FA Championship Final is scheduled to take place at the Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba and the Bayelsa supporters’ team were on transit to Asaba when a bus in the entourage was involved in a fatal crash after Kwale, leading to the death of 4 members of the supporters club with 7 others sustaining injuries.

    Oborevwori in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Festus Ahon, condoled with the families of the deceased, the Government and people of Bayelsa on the unfortunate incident and prayed for quick healing and recovery of the injured.

    He said that the unfortunate incident was regrettable and had caused great pain to the bereaved families. He also, prayed for the souls of the departed.

    “A few hours ago, I was informed of the unfortunate accident involving members of the Bayelsa State supporters’ club on their way to Asaba for the 2022/2023 Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL) Final taking place at the Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba.

    “It is with a deep sense of sorrow that I commiserate with the families of those that lost their lives in the fatal motor accident of Sunday, June 11, 2023, along Kwale Asaba Road.

    “Indeed, their deaths have caused a dark cloud and great sorrow for their families and Bayelsa State.

    “On behalf of the Government and people of Delta, I extend my heartfelt condolences to my brother Governor, Senator Douye Diri, the bereaved families and people of Bayelsa State on this sad incident.

    “Their untimely deaths have undoubtedly caused great pain and sorrow to their families. I pray for quick healing to the injured and that such tragedy will never occur again.

    “May God grant the families and loved ones the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss and may the souls of the departed rest in peace,” Oborevwori prayed.

  • Keep the Presidential Amnesty Programme going – Diri tells FG

    Keep the Presidential Amnesty Programme going – Diri tells FG

    Gov. Douye Diri of Bayelsa on Friday appealed to the Federal Government to jettison any plan to end the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), saying the programme is yet to achieve its objectives.

    Diri insisted that PAP is yet to achieve its mandate, saying even the disarmament phase of the scheme has not been fully realised as arms and ammunition are still in the wrong hands in the Niger Delta.

    The governor, who spoke when he received the Interim Administrator, PAP, retired Maj.-Gen. Barry Ndiomu, in Government House, Yenagoa, warned that any attempt to shut down the programme would plunge the region into another round of unrest.

    He said: “The amnesty programme has three legs. The first is disarmament, a process, said to be completed; then the demobilisation leg and finally, the reintegration leg. On the issue of disarmament, can we completely convince ourselves that we have been able to completely disarm the Niger Delta of armaments in our region?

    “So while we are in the final stage of reintegration, you and I know that within our Niger Delta, we still have very many arms, non state actors are in possession of arms, well that has been said to be completed but I like to state clearly here that the process is not 100 per cent completed.

    “Now I will like to look more on the issue of reintegration. The reintegration is more like a continuous process of building human capacity and for you to continue to build human capacity, it follows that the amnesty programme must be on and I’m happy while listening to you that you have already taken that up.

    “It will be wrong for anybody at this point to bring the amnesty programme to a close. That will amount to being insensitive to what is going on in the region.”

    While acknowledging that the Federal Government has soft-pedalled in its decision to shut down the programme, Diri said the best gift the government could give to the Niger Delta people is to allow the continuity of PAP.

    The governor urged Ndiomu to deal with the challenges in the programme and write his name in gold,  insisting that the problems are huge enough to contemplate closing the scheme.

    “Let me use this opportunity of your courtesy call to call on the FG that the best thing and the best gift to the Niger Delta is to continue to support and keep the Presidential Amnesty Programme going.

    “As you have rightly stated, yes, there are challenges, but then the Amnesty programme has also recorded some degree of successes. Those challenges are the reasons our people keep coming and going. So, for me at every given opportunity, it is a time to write your name in gold and indeed, writing the name of your state, Bayelsa, in gold.

    “If you have come and found certain challenges, we know you have the capacity to confront those challenges. Whatever you can do to ensure that the Amnesty programme will continue to exist, please do them and let our people be the final beneficiaries of this programme,” Diri said.

    The governor called on Ndiomu to avoid the temptation of politicising the amnesty office, saying that before the birth of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the people were one and the same.

    He said: “I’ve always reminded us that before APC and PDP, we were one and the same people. Those, who sacrificed their lives, like Boro did, didn’t do that for political reasons and therefore, I’ll like to call on you not to politicize the amnesty programme”.

    Diri observed that Ndiomu was the third person from Bayelsa to man the amnesty office and appealed to him to carry the state along in all his activities to avoid regrets.

    Diri frowned at the domiciling of the amnesty programme in Abuja and said his administration had donated a parcel of land to erect a befitting office for the scheme and bring it home.

    “The amnesty programme as it operates today is more of Abuja. It’s almost an alien programme to our people, except people who will visit your offices in Abuja and I’ll like to call on you to ensure that the headquarters of the amnesty programme is sited in Yenagoa, Bayelsa state. To this end, the state government has already donated a parcel of land for that purpose,” he said.

    Diri called for collaboration among the state government, the amnesty programme and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to avoid duplication of projects and programmes.

    On the ongoing clean-up of Ogoni, the governor noticed the snail-paced movement of the programme and reminded the federal government that many areas of the Niger Delta needed remediation.

    He said: “We have also been agitating that the clean-up in Niger Delta shouldn’t be for Ogoni alone. We all know that the whole environment of the Niger Delta has been polluted. Bayelsa is not an exception, so remedying our environment should be one of the key responsibilities that PAP should also look into in partnership with other ministries and agencies of government.

    On his part, Ndiomu solicited the support of the Bayelsa government for his administration.

    He said that he was poised to reform the amnesty programme to make it more impactful to the beneficiaries and results oriented.