Stakeholders Calls on Douye Diri to Do Needful
EXCERPT OF WORLD PRESS CONFERENCE BY CONCERNED BAYELSA STAKEHOLDERS FORUM (CBSF) TODAY BEING TUESDAY 15TH JULY, 2025 HELD IN YENAGOA, BAYELSA STATE
PROTOCOL
Invited Critical Stakeholders
Outstanding Gentlemen of the Press
Before proceeding with this historic and memorable World Press Conference, let us observe a minute silence in solidarity with the National Mourning of the death of our immediate past President, Muhammadu Buhari who died few days ago that God will grant his soul and those of other faithful departed eternal rest in His bosom.
Gentlemen of the Press, we wish to place on record that this gathering is an embodiment of great men and women from various political parties, including non-partisan Bayelsans and non-indigenes and different religious groups.
We invited you here to x-ray the political atmosphere in the country and Bayelsa State in particular and to make our position known as critical stakeholders.
Here in Bayelsa State, some of us move daily from one project site to another to assess, evaluate, verify and appreciate the great works that Almighty God is using His Excellency, Very Distinguished Senator Douye Diri, the Executive Governor of Bayelsa State to do.
Those with strong memories can attest to the fact that since the inception of this ASSURED Prosperity administration till date that tremendous changes and Achievements have been made in most sectors of the state.
Besides total restoration of peace, unity and security to the state that was always in the News for negative reasons, the ASSURED Prosperity administration’s has done so much in the area of health. Today, Bayelsa is among the few states that deploy Drones to deliver drugs and other medical essentials to remote areas that are difficult to access by road and even river.
Gov. Douye Diri has not only done so much in the education sector, he has revived Boarding School system and Technical Colleges with Bayelsa state boasting of some of the best, well equipped Technical Colleges that offer free accommodation, free feeding, tuition free with other basic educational items that encourages students to study hard in very conducive environments and atmosphere.
Huge investment of government in sports is yielding very positive results to the extent that Bayelsa State that was relegated in most sporting events years ago, now dominates National Sports.
The sweet stories in the area of roads and bridges are almost unimaginable and unbelievable. Worthy of commendation are the Yenagoa-Angiama-Otuan-Oporoma road, the Nembe-Brass road, the Phases 2 and 3 of the Glory Drive, the New Yenagoa City, the Polaku-Sabagriea road, the 9-Storey New State Secretariat, the Agge road to link the world to the ongoing Agge Seaport project, the Imgbi Bridge. The list is almost endless.
We also commend the giant strides of His Excellency in the area of Women and Youth empowerment.
We appreciate his prioritization of workers welfare. In particular, we commend how he treats workers who are the engine of the state as kings and queens.
We must say at this point that His Excellency deserves encomium because we can go on with the litany of his good works even though today’s World Press Conference is not centred on the above.
But before going to the crux, it is pertinent to state that one of the best ways to encourage public workers and others to do more is to commend and appreciate their immeasurable and invaluable sacrifices. It is on this very note that we unanimously pass a VOTE OF CONFIDENCE on His Excellency, Very Distinguished Senator Douye Diri in recognition of his selfless service to our great state and the Ijaw Nation in general.
Having said that, we wish to proceed to the crux which is the need to appeal to His Excellency to take a decisive step to align with the government at the centre.
Our fathers, High Chief Harold Dappa-Biriye and Chief (Sen.) Dr Melford Obiene Okilo admonished the Ijaw Nation to always align with the government at the centre largely due to our distance from the centre and our difficult terrain in order to attract development to our area.
For instance, our adherence to their advice and our alignment with the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) that was the government at the centre helped Bayelsa State and the Ijaw Nation to produce the Vice President and later, President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of this country in the person of President Goodluck Jonathan.
Sadly, today Bayelsans and Ijaws in general are not among first 40 Nigerians from the Offices of the President, Vice President and Services Chiefs.
Ijaws have been relegated and rendered politically and economically redundant and impotent because we are not with the government at the centre.
Ironically, Ijaws who are the majority in terms of population in the geographic Niger Delta area (South South) and the fourth largest tribe in the country, Ijaw Nation that contribute well over 65% of the oil and gas wealth that are used to run the affairs of the country have been rendered powerless because of our non-alignment with the ruling party.
Again, there is a power sharing and rotation system between the North and South. The North having done their complete eight (8) years under late President Muhammadu Buhari is supposed to support the South to complete her own eight (8) years under incumbent President Bola Ahmed Tinubu who is working round the clock to strengthen the South.
The President has graciously appointed illustrious sons and daughters of Ijaw Nation and Bayelsa State in particular into key offices. We appreciate his appointment of Very Distinguished Senator Heineken Lokpobiri Ph.D as Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Chief Samuel Ogbuku as MD of NDDC, Chief Ebitimi Amgbare as MD of NDDBA, Hon. Preye Aganaba as the Executive Director of Human Resources in the newly established South South Development Commission (SSDC), Mr. Agama as DG of the Nigerian Security and Exchange Commission. Among other notable appointments.
We also thank President Tinubu for approving Federal Government take over of the Second Phase of the Nembe-Brass Road that will help to link the Ocean where the vast wealth of Bayelsa State is.
Presently, Bayelsa State is standing alone as the only PDP state in the whole of South South. The above may not be too much issue. The greatest challenge here is the hijack of the PDP by few individuals and the very dangerous traps that they have set for Bayelsans in 2027 particularly those that intend to fly the flag of PDP.
There are concluded arrangements to hide under the excuse of crisis and countless court cases in PDP at different levels to work to nullify the Nomination of all Candidates that will emerge under the party platform. So, we can imagine the pains, agony and disarray that the state shall experience if the state remains in PDP.
The ongoing Coalition is also an embodiment of people who conspired to deny Bayelsa State and indeed the entire Ijaw Nation, a second term at the Presidency in 2015. Thus, the coalition can never be an option.
It is based on the above that we unanimously appeal to the Governor to defect to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to show Southern Solidarity with other Southern Governors who are with Mr. President. But as we move forward, one of the greatest priorities in the alliance with the centre should be the actualization of the Agge Seaport that will help to boost the state economy and also bring about unimaginable transformation and prosperity.
In the next few days we shall begin a daily Rally on the streets of Yenagoa to prevail on His Excellency to do the needful.
Finally, His Excellency should ignore all opposing voices against his defection. We say this because they are all fighting to protect their individual political interest without prioritizing that of the state and the entire Ijaw Nation.
We wish to reassure His Excellency that vast majority of Bayelsans are with him and together, we shall move forward.
Thank you so much for the rapt attention and God bless everyone of us abundantly.
