Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, has
revealed how his absolute faith in God earned him the sobriquet ‘Miracle
Governor.’
Speaking on Friday during the KOLGA (Kolokuma/Opokuma
Local Government Area) Annual Day of Thanksgiving held in Sampou, his
community, the Bayelsa governor disclosed how in 2020, a senior citizen of
Nigeria invited him to Abuja and advised him to perform certain rituals if he
wanted to be governor but that he turned down the offer.
He had challenged the declaration of the All
Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the November 2019 governorship poll as
winner and the matter was then pending at the Supreme Court.
Diri told the crowd at the gathering that the senior
citizen flew in some marabouts from Senegal to perform the rituals. When he
bluntly rejected the offer, he said the man demanded a refund of the money
spent to transport them into the country and he had to pay him the sum of
$10,000.
He explained that his unshaken faith in God made him
decline the advice to look elsewhere for help, saying God, against all the
odds, proved that He is always faithful.
He emphasised the need for politicians to learn from
his experience and put their trust in God rather than in man
The Bayelsa
helmsman averred that the KOLGA people have reasons to be thankful to God given
the level of development they have witnessed, and thanked the council for
giving the thanksgiving day a legal backing through legislation.
Governor Diri also expressed gratitude to Apostle
David Zilly Aggrey, the convener, and those who have sustained the programme.
His words: "I thank God and also thank Apostle
David Zilly Aggrey because he started this event. And because his prayers were
heard, God made it possible to bring me in and today, it is by law that all
Kolokuma/Opokuma people can gather to praise God.
"Let me reveal to you why it is important to
thank God and have faith in Him. Sometime ago, a senior citizen of this country
invited me to Abuja and asked me to perform certain sacrifices but I declined.
I told him my faith in God will not allow me to do it. He got angry and told me
I would never become governor.
"He told me that he had spent $10,000 to bring
the people for the sacrifice and asked for a refund, which I obliged.
“When the Supreme Court’s pronouncement came, the man
was shocked and could not call me. Sadly, he passed on after some time.
“The story I have narrated was witnessed by my deputy
and a friend in Abuja as both of them accompanied me to visit the senior
citizen.
"Kolokuma/Opokuma people have every reason to
thank God. As a state, we do not want anybody to be harmed in the name of
politics because we do not know who God has destined for greatness. So I call
on all of us in the political game to be very civil and recognise that there is
God who rules in the affairs of man.”
In his welcome address, the chairman of Kolokuma/
Opokuma Local Government Area, Tariye Lelei, said people of the area have
reason to thank God for the gift of a governor.
He said it was in recognition of the goodness of God
in their lives that the local government passed a legislation legalising the
thanksgiving on January 17 annually.
In his sermon, Apostle David Zilly Aggrey said the
younger generation might not understand the reason for the thanksgiving as they
did not experience the difficulty older ones in the local government faced and
said if they do not thank God for what He had done for them, they could be
regarded as ingrates.
He said Bayelsa was witnessing tremendous development
under Diri and thanked the people of the state for giving him the opportunity
to serve a second term.
At the event were the Deputy Governor, Senator
Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, state lawmakers, Secretary to the State Government, Prof.
Nimibofa Ayawei, the Head of Service, Mrs. Biobelemoye Charles-Onyema, Chief of
Staff, Government House, Dr. Peter Akpe, his deputy, Irorodamie Komonibo, and members of the state
executive council.
Others were a member of the Peoples Democratic Party Board of Trustees, Chief (Mrs.) Remi Kuku, the state PDP chairman, Solomon Agwana, and members of his exco, local government chairmen, the Ibedaowei of Kolokuma Kingdom, King Onya Mozi Agara, other traditional rulers, KOLGA elders and top government officials
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