By Asu Beks
Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, has been described variously by different persons, depending on the perspective one views his achievements in office as governor in the last five years. To some people, he is a silent revolutionary in infrastructure development. To some other persons, he is a wealth creator, having created employment for hundreds of Bayelsa people in the last five years. There are those who see him not just as a politician but also as an accomplished administrator and humanist whose thirst for the welfare of his people remains unquenchable. Yet, there are those who describe him as the best governor to have ever led Bayelsa State since its creation in 1996, some 29 years ago.
However, from whichever angle one may like to look at the man, Diri, one obvious fact about his sojourn in Bayelsa State Government is that he has transformed the state from being just an aquatic state where people commute using boat, to a city with chains of road networks, such that movement from point A to B becomes very easy for the people; a development many said had opened up the state to rapid economic development and growth and invariably boosting commercial activities like never before.
Focused and humble, with deep sense of passion for the development of the state, Diri has actually moved the state out of the league of weak states in Nigeria to one of the strongest in terms of infrastructural, human capital and economic development.
From 1996, when the state was created, four governors had steered the ship of the state before Diri. Starting from Diepreye Alamieseigha to Goodluck Jonathan, Tmipreye Sylva and Seriake Dickson, none is comparable to Diri, in terms of overall performance. Although most of what he is building on were the foundations laid by Alamieseigha, credit must be given to him as a man who was able to bring those beautiful dreams to reality.
Some of the projects that have marked him out as example of what a governor should represent include redesigning and reconstruction of the Edepie/Etegwe Roundabout in Yenagoa LGA; the completion of Imiringi Bridge in Ogbia LGA; reconstruction and completion of the collapsed Elebele Bridge in Ogbia LGA; initiation, construction and inauguration of the six kilometre Igbedi Community Road in Kolokuma/Opokuma LGA; completion and inauguration of Nembe Unity Bridge in Nembe LGA; completion of the Onopa Bridge and construction of the access road into the New Yenagoa City; actualization of the vision of the New Yenagoa City and dualisation of all the roads in the city; construction and inauguration of Phase 1-4 of the Igbogene-AIT/Elebele Outer Ring Road in Yenagoa LGA; construction and inauguration of the dualised Glory Drive Phase 2, Igbogene by the Ecumenical Centre to link Tombia Road, in Yenagoa LGA and completion of Phase 2 of the Isaac Boro Expressway and Etegwe Bridge in Yenagoa LGA.
Others include the continued construction of the Yenagoa-Oporoma-Ukubie Road in Bayelsa Central Senatorial District; completion and inauguration of the Aguobiri Bridge across Silver River with the stretch of road to Angiama community even as work on the Angiama-Oporoma Bridge progresses; completion of the Sagbama-Ekeremor Road in Bayelsa West Senatorial District with five new bridges; rehabilitation and construction of over 100 internal roads in Yenagoa; commencement of 21km Phase One Nembe-Brass Road (Work ongoing); commencement of Akaba-Okodi Road to link riverine communities in Ogbia LGA and reconstruction of Onuegbum-Otuoke Road.
He also took over construction of the abandoned Polaku-Sabagreia Road linking Yenagoa LGA to Kolokuma/Opokuma LGA, commenced construction of Bolou-Orua-Akeddei-Toru-Ebeni Road in Sagbama LGA; continued the dualisation of Opolo-Elebele Road in Yenagoa and initiated and completed hundreds of internal concrete roads in several rural communities across the eight LGAs.
The governor has many ongoing construction projects including construction of the road to Otuan community, Southern Ijaw LGA; construction of the road to Enewari community, Southern Ijaw LGA and the construction of Phase 3 of Glory Drive with bridge across Epie Creek at Imgbi Road Junction.
He also took over the construction of Kalama-Sampou Road along East-West Road from NDDC and the construction of the road from New Yenagoa City linking Tombia-Amassoma Road.
Apart from the massive road constructions, Gov Diri earlier this year embarked on ground breaking projects like the construction of the Bayelsa International Stadium and the iconic nine-storey new secretariat complex. Laying the foundation for the secretariat, the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Dame Didi Walson-Jack, expressed delight for the legacy project, noting that when completed, it would go down in her memory as an exciting legacy of the Diri administration.
The governor also commissioned a Haemodialysis Centre to mark his 5th anniversary celebration in office as Bayelsa State Governor.
Apart from road infrastructure, Diri administration is also focused on the provision of potable water in the state capital and environs upon completion of an independent power plant project by the end of this year. The people are also elated following the planned delivery of the 60MW twin gas-powered turbines procured by the government as work on the installation site at Elebele nears completion.
Addressing a large crowd at the King Koko Square in Nembe, headquarters of the Nembe Local Government Area, earlier this year, during his ‘Thank-You Tour’ of the eight councils in the state, Diri spoke about his administration’s effort to provide stable electricity to his people saying, “On the issue of power, there is good news. As you are aware, we have procured an independent power plant and very soon, we will no longer depend on the existing power supply arrangement. We will soon take delivery of the 60-megawatt gas turbines and the site for the installation is almost completed.”
Governor Diri’s vision for economic growth is also not in doubt. His administration has received widespread praise for embracing technology to drive economic growth and fiscal sustainability. With the e-ticketing breakthrough in revenue collection, Diri is rewriting the narrative of financial management in Nigeria and equally reshaping governance in Bayelsa. Once plagued by revenue leakages and inefficiencies, the new e-ticketing system has helped the state to record a historic milestone in its internally generated revenue (IGR), pulling in an unprecedented ₦4.2 billion in a single month, a staggering 320 percent increase from previous figures.
With the increased revenue, Bayelsa is now in a better position to fund infrastructure projects, improve healthcare services, enhance education, and support social welfare programs.
This landmark achievement signals a shift towards financial independence, reducing the state’s overreliance on federal allocations. Analysts have hailed this as a crucial step in achieving long-term economic stability, adding that with the system in place, Bayelsa is setting a precedent for digital revenue collection in Nigeria.
In all of this, Diri has not forgotten the role of human resources in the economic development of any society. In recognition of the central role of labour to the economic development of the state, he expanded the state’s workforce by employing 1000 personnel into the state civil service. Apart from strengthening the state’s workforce, the move is also aimed at reducing unemployment and improving the welfare of the people.
A close and critical appraisal of his performance so far lends credence to the position in many quarters that he remains the best governor since the creation of Bayelsa State in 1996.
• Beks writes from Lagos