Riverine Terrain Not Excuse For Underdevelopment – Diri

Bayelsa State governor, Senator Douye Diri, has said that ongoing road projects from Angiama to Enewari, Otuan, and nearby communities are clear evidence that the area’s riverine nature is not a barrier to development.

He stated that his administration is committed to opening up difficult terrains and bringing infrastructure closer to the people.

During a visit to the Oporoma community in the Southern Ijaw local government area, in continuation of his Thank-You tour, Diri also pledged that his administration would not abandon any project.

He assured the people that the 600-meter Angiama-Oporoma bridge across the River Nun will be completed by the end of the year. He added that the project, which some critics claimed was politically motivated, would prove them wrong, as vehicles would drive to Oporoma by December.

He said, “We wasted no time from the beginning of our first term. After all the drawings and necessary engineering work were done on the Yenagoa-Oporoma-Ukubie road project, we took it from where the former governor stopped.

“We first constructed the road to Aguobiri, built the bridge there, finished with the first phase of the road and took it to Angiama. So from then on, the boat movement to Southern Ijaw changed from Ayama to Angiama.

“We said we were not done yet. The bridge at Angiama that everybody was afraid of, as it is over 600 metres long, we awarded that contract and the road from there to Oporoma. The spur to Otuan was not there when we started the bridge, and when it had gone far, I also awarded that project.

“When we were to start the bridge, the naysayers said the governor was doing it because he had a second term ambition and that it was all politics. But we have put them to shame. I am sure that by the end of December this year we will drive to Oporoma.”

In a goodwill message, Senator Konbowei Friday Benson, who represents Bayelsa Central and chairs the Senate Committee on South-South Development Commission (SSDC), expressed his gratitude to the governor for keeping his promises, adding that the people of Southern Ijaw have waited for more than 60 years to see the dream come true.

The member representing Southern Ijaw constituency 3 in the State House of Assembly, Hon. Moses Marlon, shared a touching story of how an elderly woman was overwhelmed with joy when she saw cars from Governor Diri’s convoy enter her community, Angiama, for the very first time.

Appreciating the governor for continuing the construction of the Yenagoa-Oporoma-Ukubie Road and also approving the construction of the Angiama-Enewari Road and the road to the Otuan community, Hon. Marlon appealed to the governor to take the project further to neighbouring communities.

Meanwhile, Governor Diri has also promised the people of Ogbia local government area that construction on the Akaba-Okodi Road and a technical college will continue.

Diri, who stated this in Ogbia town, paid tribute to the late Melford Okilo. Okilo was governor of the old Rivers State between 1979 and 1983 and also served as a senator in the fourth Republic, representing Bayelsa East between 1999 and 2003.

The governor also acknowledged former President Goodluck Jonathan’s contributions to the development of Nigeria and Bayelsa, adding that his footprints were still visible all over the country ten years after leaving office.

Diri urged people of the state to see politics as a means to an end and not the end in itself, stressing that the days of violent politics were over, giving way to people-oriented politics.

The state’s helmsman assured the people of Ogbia that his administration will continue to prioritise their welfare, stating that the Akaba-Okodi Road and the Science and Technical College at Opukeme will be completed before the end of his tenure.