Bayelsa at 30: Diri calls for 'intellectual militancy' and life beyond oil
Summarised from reporting by Leadership. Figures trace to that report; check it before relying on them.
At the anniversary lecture in Yenagoa, the governor renewed calls for more derivation and said the Nembe-Brass Road's first phase is due by year-end.
Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri has urged residents to move past the state's association with militancy and embrace what he called "intellectual militancy" driven by education, as the state marks 30 years since its creation on 1 October 1996, Leadership reports.
Speaking at the anniversary lecture in Yenagoa, Diri said his government had shifted education policy towards science, technical and vocational training. He repeated his view that "13 per cent derivation is 87 per cent deprivation", arguing that the state's difficult terrain needs more resources.
He said Brass is the only local government headquarters in the state without road access, and that the first phase of the Nembe-Brass Road, with more than six bridges and culverts, should be completed by the end of the year. He also cited a monthly disclosure of state revenue and spending.
The lecturer, Professor Godini Gabriel Darah, acknowledged infrastructure gains but questioned Nigeria's reliance on oil and said questions of resource ownership remain unresolved. The Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Nimibofa Ayawei, cited the international airport and a 60-megawatt gas turbine as signs of progress.
No comments yet. Be the first.