National Wire About Nigerians, Nigerian Business and Other Stories
By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
Ahead of the 2019 governorship polls in the oil rich Bayelsa state, the governorship standard bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Senator Douye Diri has promised to re-champion the agitation for the control and management of mineral resources by states in Nigeria.
The gubernatorial elections of Bayelsa and Kogi states come up November 16th, 2019 amidst palpable apprehension of security challenges, defections and mistrust amongst politicians.
Diri who currently represents Bayelsa central senatorial district in the senate stated this Wednesday during an interactive session with journalists at the Earnest Ikoli press centre, Yenagoa, the state capital.
Reiterating his commitment to building a stable economy for the state the PDP candidate maintained that as governor he would create more job opportunities for Bayelsans and pay workers as and when due, stressing that the restoration government headed by governor Seriake Dickson has done well in the state.
While acknowledging that Bayelsa has received federal allocations which could have made the state better, Diri berated the revenue sharing formula in Nigeria, saying that 13% derivation of the nation falls short of tenable statistics in other federations, just as he criticized the federal government of being insensitive and inimical to the development of the Niger Delta states through anti-Niger Delta laws such as the land use act.
Diri said, “I was a member of the constitution amendment committee when I was in the House of Representatives, the green chambers. One person per state was appointed to be member, so we pushed for the repealing of the NYSC act, the security act and the land use act. We from the Niger Delta lobbied our south eastern members in the House to support us, they agreed but when the House revisited the amendments proposed in the committee of the whole to our surprise, the land use act was dropped because we are minority.”
The guber hopeful while recounting his political experience hinted that he has the needed political sagacity to lead the state, stressing that Bayelsa is basically a state which has been controlled by the Peoples Democratic Party, reemphasizing that through the programmes and developmental efforts of successive PDP administrations, Yenagoa the state capital which was not in the comity of state capitals in Nigeria has gradually become a city, saying his government would continue with the legacies and programmes of the present administration of governor Dickson.
Speaking on his choice of running mate the flag bearer said the decision of who becomes his deputy is a responsibility of his party, as according to him the Independent National Electoral commission, INEC would give the public information about the person at the appropriate time.
You would recall that Senator Douye Diri emerged as the guber candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the November 16th 2019 governorship election in Bayelsa state which sources say is still being challenged by aggrieved contenders in the court of law just as his choice of deputy has also generated controversy in the party.
