Planned mega rally: Gov Diri alerts security Chiefs, elders of emerging threats to Bayelsa’s peace
By Tapre Timine, Bayelsa
Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has sounded the alarm over a plot to disrupt the state’s peace, urging security commanders, community leaders, and traditional rulers to remain vigilant.
Speaking at separate meetings with the Bayelsa Elders Council and the state security council’s 37th session on Thursday, Governor Diri cautioned that his administration would not tolerate any attempt to destabilise the state.
The governor specifically raised worries over a planned mega rally and the inauguration of a factional group linked to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike.
According to him, such activities could fuel unnecessary tensions, particularly at a time when political unrest in neighbouring Rivers State has already heightened ethnic sensitivities.
He further alleged that a suspended member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), George Turner, was being positioned to create division within the party in Bayelsa, adding that any move to transplant Rivers State’s political turmoil into Bayelsa would be met with strong resistance.
He said: “Any attempt to import the Rivers State political crisis into Bayelsa will be resisted. I urge security commanders in the state to be on the alert. Parents and traditional rulers should discourage their wards and children from being used by unscrupulous elements to cause trouble in the state.”
Diri emphasised that the peaceful nature of the Ijaw people should not be mistaken for weakness, vowing that his government would not permit any faceless group to sow discord in Bayelsa, the ancestral home of the Ijaw people.
He went on to clarify Turner’s suspension from the PDP due to misconduct, describing him as a renegade attempting to establish a parallel faction of the party within the state.
He also accused Turner of participating in a controversial South-South PDP zonal congress that was ultimately rejected by the party’s National Working Committee.
“As you are aware, we have threats from our sister state. The political crisis there is threatening us and we will not allow what is happening there to come into Bayelsa State.
“We had in our party a renegade, who has decided to form a parallel PDP in Bayelsa State, working with an ex-governor. The party in our state suspended him for gross misconduct and for now he is not a member of our party in Bayelsa State.
“He was a part of the kangaroo PDP South South zonal congress that was rejected by the National Working Committee of our party and he is threatening the peace of this state.
“This is not Rivers State. Bayelsa is the cradle of every Ijaw man. I have always said that being peaceful is not cowardice. We are very courageous and we can stand up for the truth at all times.
“Every public facility owned by the Bayelsa State government cannot be used except with the express approval of the state government.”
The governor further announced that state-owned public facilities could only be used with the explicit approval of the Bayelsa government.
During his meeting with the elders, Diri also addressed the state’s electricity supply, revealing that the recent blackout was caused by the vandalisation of power transmission towers in Rivers State.
He, therefore, assured that efforts were underway to restore power, adding that the state’s investment in a gas turbine would soon bring stable electricity to Bayelsa.
On employment, the governor disclosed that his administration was in the process of hiring 1,000 Bayelsans into the civil service.
“Again, we are going to employ another 1000 Bayelsans. That process is already on. From information I got from the civil service commission, they have received about 36,000 applications. It is like what we are doing is a drop of water in the ocean, but it is a good way to start.”
Diri also addressed the cancellation of the previous teachers’ recruitment exercise, attributing it to irregularities, noting that a new committee, chaired by his Deputy Chief of Staff, had been constituted to oversee a fresh and transparent hiring process.
Chairman of the Bayelsa Elders Council and former deputy governor, Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John Jonah (rtd), lauded Diri’s administration for its infrastructural advancements.
Among other dignitaries present at the meeting were former Military Governor of Rivers State and Amayanabo of Twon-Brass, King Alfred Diete-Spiff, as well as the chairman of the Bayelsa State Traditional Rulers Council, King Bubaraye Dakolo.
