Embrace Unity to Bring Development in Niger Delta
Governor of Bayelsa State, Douye Diri, has called on the people of the Niger Delta region to embrace unity to bring development faster to the area.
He started this while commissioning the Mgbuoshimini-Nkpor Road in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State. He urged the people to set aside their beliefs and political affiliation and work together to deliver quality governance to the people.
“They want to play Rivers State against Bayelsa State; they want to play Delta State against Bayelsa, against Akwa Ibom. We say, no!” the governor said.
“We must continue to come together; we must continue to live together as brothers and sisters.”
Diri also lauded his Rivers counterpart, Nyesom Wike, for his visionary leadership and expressed optimism that with similar strides by other states in the region, the Niger Delta will soon match Dubai’s developmental feat.
According to him, “Development must continue in the Niger Delta. We would turn this Niger Delta into another Dubai. Governor Wike has started it, and every other governor that will be coming will follow suit,” he said during the event held on Wednesday.
“The same thing [is what] we are doing in Bayelsa. The same thing is happening in Delta. The same thing is happening in Delta. So, I like to thank you, your excellency; the one who has defined and redefined governance in this state.”
‘We Must Continue To Live Together
Governor Diri also faulted the claims that the region gets much allocation from the Federal Government. He stressed that Niger Delta deserves more than it gets from the Federal Government. However, he said the resources in the region does not belong to the country, saying the
“People say [the] oil belongs to Nigeria. We are not arguing about that. But if Rivers State, Bayelsa State, Delta State were not part of Nigeria, will [the] oil belong to Nigeria? If we were in Equatorial Guinea or Cameroon, would Nigeria claim the oil? Give the due to the Niger Delta people. People give us 13 percent [derivation] and think that is too much. You give us 13 percent; you take 87 percent.”
