Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri has assured people of the state of better days ahead.
Speaking during a statewide New Year broadcast on Sunday, Governor Diri acknowledged the challenges of 2022 but expressed the optimism that with the help of Almighty God as well as the careful planning being implemented by his administration, the state will fare better in 2023.
He recalled the devastating effects of last year’s floods on the state and assured that the government has taken practical steps toward recovery and reconstruction.
Diri stressed that development should not be driven by political expediency or blind propaganda but by critically prioritising the needs of the people and creating the conditions for a desirable future.
He called on people of the state to put their differences aside and resolve to work together to achieve the dreams of the Bayelsa founding fathers, especially as the 2023 general election approaches.
“I recall that for several weeks across October and November in 2022, our state was inundated by flooding of unprecedented proportions. The devastation that occurred turned our state into an Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) Camp. Critical infrastructure, including roads, bridges, schools and hospitals were severely destroyed and degraded. No fewer than 400 communities were submerged with over one million persons displaced. Several deaths were also recorded.
“But by God’s grace, despite all of these, we prevailed. So, with our faith firmly anchored on our Heavenly Father, we look forward to a better 2023. In 2022, my administration continued to address the deficits that impact our people in order to accelerate the pace of our development. We are addressing the deficit in infrastructure, including roads, health, education, human capacity development, and security.”
Speaking on the 2023 elections, the Bayelsa helmsman called on politicians to be tolerant and to eschew violence, stressing that election should be a contest of ideas and choices and not an opportunity to settle political scores.
“As we approach the general election in a few weeks, let me restate my position that a government of the people, for the people and by the people represents our best option for electing leaders. I again implore politicians in Bayelsa and elsewhere in Nigeria to be tolerant and eschew violent conducts. The election should be a contest of ideas and choices and not an opportunity to settle political scores or an excuse for calumny. And that is why we must insist on some irreducible minimum required for those who seek leadership roles.”
“The election should be a contest of ideas and choices and not an opportunity to settle political scores or an excuse for calumny. And that is why we must insist on some irreducible minimum required for those who seek leadership roles.
“We must therefore reject those who insist that they will rule not by building bridges of consensus but by brigandage; not by the ballot but by the bullet. In the end, power belongs unto God,” he said.
