Diri Dedicates Governor Of The Year Award To Bayelsa Flood Victims

Bayelsa State governor Douye Diri has dedicated the 2022 Governor of the Year Award by The Sun Newspapers to victims of last year’s devastating floods in the state. He saluted the people for their resilience amid the natural disaster.

The governor, who spoke in Lagos weekend after he received the award, expressed delight that people of the state were able to surmount the challenges presented by the disaster.

In a statement issued yesterday by his chief press secretary, Mr Daniel Alabrah, the governor also commended the people for supporting his administration and declared that the award would spur him to do more.

Governor Diri particularly lauded the legislature and judiciary in the state for the synergy among the three arms of government, saying the cooperation has contributed greatly to the successes recorded by his administration.

He said the prevailing peace and harmony in the state was one of the prized achievements of his administration and stressed the need for the people to sustain the tempo, saying it was the only way Bayelsa can make good progress.

Diri said, “This is more about the people of Bayelsa State. Whatever award we receive today is on behalf of the people of the state that have been very supportive.

“Also, the three arms of government working together, that synergy has helped us achieve whatever we are seeing today. We give the glory to God.

“I like to on behalf of the prosperity administration appreciate the good people of Bayelsa State, particularly the flood victims. We know what we went through and we thank God that we are alive to receive an award from The Sun.

“This to me is in recognition of the efforts of the people of Bayelsa State. It is in terms of human and infrastructural development as well as the peace and harmony we are enjoying.”

Earlier, the managing director and editor-in-chief of The Sun, Mr Onuoha Ukeh, said the award, which was the 20th edition, is dedicated to recognizing those that have contributed to the development of Nigeria.

In his remarks, the chairman of the occasion and former governor of Ogun State, Chief Olusegun Osoba, expressed appreciation to the management and staff of the organisation for organising the awards, saying it was a good way of encouraging development in Nigeria.

While describing next month’s general election as crucial to the survival of Nigeria, Osoba hailed the introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and urged Nigerians to be fully involved in the process in accordance with the laws of the land.

The governor was accompanied to the event by Senator Moses Cleopas representing Bayelsa Central senatorial district, speaker of the state House of Assembly, Abraham Ingobere, some state legislators, chairman of the state Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Solomon Agwana, president, Ijaw National Congress, Prof. Benjamin Okaba, president, Ijaw Youth Council, Peter Igbifa,  business moguls, Chief Gesi Asamowei and Chief Ken Etete, Waripamowei Dudafa, members of the state executive council as well as other government functionaries.