Reject Politicians Making Empty Promises, Bayelsa Monarch Tells Voters

King of Nembe Kingdom, Dr Edmond Daukoru, Mingi XIII, has urged the electorate in Bayelsa State to reject politicians who make empty promises ahead of the November 11 governorship election.

The monarch gave the advice in his palace in Ogbolomabiri when Governor Douye Diri, his deputy, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) campaign team visited him to seek royal blessings ahead of the election.

The king, who is a former minister of state for energy and secretary-general of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), said his people would resist politicians whose stock-in-trade was to deceive the electorate with vague promises.

He commended Governor Diri’s passion towards the ongoing Nembe-Brass road project through his frequent inspection of the project, which he said has given the people of Nembe the assurance that the government and the kingdom are in safe hands.

Daukoru equally implored his subjects to be guided in their choice of who to vote on November 11 by the visible projects they can see in their domain and not by sweet talks and fancy stories of politicians.

He said, “Campaign time is when you have to explain to all that you mean well; that you need their mandate so that you can carry out your programme to the fullest.

“Nembe is going to vote and the people we see. They can fool the people some of the time but cannot fool all the people all the time.

“Seeing is believing. People are to be guided by what they see, not by fancy stories or expectations. Nembe is only an island rearing to become a city. So, we cannot afford any bloodletting if we are to grow in cooperation, in skills and in our contribution to the state.

“Your Excellency, I’m very happy that early in your campaign you found time to visit us. I do know that you come very often to see your beloved projects, to see things for yourself. That is the way it should be. It is an assurance that the government and the community are under your view all together as one unit and not an opposition to one another,” he said.

In his remarks, Governor Diri thanked the monarch for his kind words and support, saying he is a statesman who believes in the wellbeing of his people and the state.

The governor restated his position that traditional rulers must ensure peace and prevent electoral violence in their domain as his administration would wield the big stick and dethrone any of them found wanting.

At the King Koko Square in Ogbolomabiri, Diri told the large crowd of party members and supporters that he was glad to return to campaign peacefully in the community where he was denied access in 2019 by gunmen that attacked and killed scores of his supporters.

He called for a minute’s silence in honour of the departed and thanked the people for voting massively for the PDP during the last National Assembly elections that ensured victory for all the party’s candidates.

The governor reeled out some of the projects of his administration in Nembe local government area, including the Nembe Unity Bridge, internal roads and the Nembe-Brass road.