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The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has launched a blistering attack on the All Progressive Congress (APC)- led government in Bayelsa over the ongoing construction of a new stadium at Igbogene, Yenagoa Local Government Area, valued at ₦100 billion.
According to the opposition party, while it recognizes the importance of sports development and agrees that sporting infrastructure has a place in the development of any modern society, it argued that a government that is battling widespread hunger, unemployment, poverty and a struggling economy should not commit over ₦100billion to a stadium project at the expense of investments that would directly improve the lives and living conditions of the people.
The publicity secretary of the party, Hon Ikaebimo Mark, in a statement, stated that the government should not be spending such a huge amount on a stadium when even the residents of Yenagoa cannot boast of clean potable water.
The opposition pointed out that the agriculture sector is completely neglected, with no support to farmers, stressing that there is no deliberate investment to guarantee food security.
‘’Small businesses are collapsing under harsh economic conditions. Civil servants struggle to survive on stagnant incomes. These are the urgent realities demanding immediate government intervention. The PDP believes that the greatest infrastructure any government can build is the economic well-being of its people,’’ the party stated.
The party also picked holes in the justification of the stadium project as a form of youth empowerment by Governor Diri, adding that youth empowerment is not measured by the size of a stadium.
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‘’Youth empowerment is measured by the number of young people gainfully employed and thriving small businesses, the number of skilled entrepreneurs created, the volume of investments attracted, and the opportunities available for young people to build productive and prosperous lives. ’’
Furthermore, the opposition party lamented that the existing Samson Siasia Stadium, which has served Bayelsa for years, has been left to rot away, raising serious questions about the government’s claim that sports is its principal vehicle for youth empowerment.
The statement read in part. ‘’If sports truly constitute the government’s strategy for empowering young people, why has the state’s flagship stadium not been transformed into a vibrant hub for talent discovery, sports tourism, grassroots development, and sports-based enterprise?
‘’The Governor does not need a ₦100 billion stadium to empower Bayelsa Youths. He should start with the Samson Siasia Stadium. We challenge the administration to make public, full disclosure of names and particulars of Bayelsa Youths his administration has empowered in the last six years, using the Samson Siasia stadium in Yenagoa.
‘’The opportunity cost of spending over 100 billion naira on a single project cannot be ignored. That amount could substantially transform agriculture, establish industrial estates, empower thousands of small and medium-scale enterprises, strengthen healthcare facilities, modernise schools, expand access to vocational education, provide affordable housing, improve social protection programmes, and stimulate a new wave of economic growth across Bayelsa State.
