Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, has
made a passionate appeal to Ijaw individuals, businessmen and women in the
Diaspora to join hands with the government to develop their ancestral homeland,
which is the only homogenous state of the ethnic nationality.
The Bayelsa State governor said his administration would redouble its
efforts to attract investments from both international and domestic sources.
Senator Diri, who extended the invitation on Wednesday
in his New Year broadcast to people of the state, said the government eagerly
anticipates the opportunities to collaborate with Bayelsans and Ijaw investors
from both home and abroad to unlock the vast potential of the state.
He asserted that Bayelsa prides itself as the most
secure and hospitable environment for professionals and entrepreneurs.
He said: "As we begin a new year, I am filled
with a sense of hope and optimism, eager to build on the progress we have made
and to work assiduously towards a better, brighter, and greater future for our
great state.
"I extend a warm invitation to our Ijaw brothers
and sisters in the Diaspora to redirect their focus towards their ancestral
homeland. I am pleased to assert that our state boasts the most secure and
welcoming environment for professionals and entrepreneurs to thrive, as well as
for individuals to relax and unwind, setting us apart as a haven among other
states in the country. We eagerly anticipate the opportunities to collaborate
with our brethren to unlock the vast potential that our state has to
offer."
The governor admitted that the past year was fraught
with challenges, particularly in the
country’s economic landscape and the depreciation in the currency’s exchange
rate that impacted all sectors of society.
He however noted that: "because we have been
prudent in spending our state’s
resources, and prioritising expenditure to fulfill our mandate of shared
prosperity, we have achieved significant progress on our legacy projects,
including key infrastructure initiatives to unlock the treasures of the
Atlantic Ocean and harness the potential of the Blue Economy."
The state's helmsman stressed that considerable
strides had been made to give enduring facelift to the state capital with the
construction and rehabilitation of access roads as well as several internal
roads, which had improved connectivity and accessibility.
Diri noted that in line with his administration’s
rebranded Assured Prosperity Agenda, government was taking on additional
signature projects across various sectors as it looked forward to launching "The Prosperity Estates."
According to him, "the project is a
groundbreaking housing scheme that will bring 1000 affordable homes to our
state capital and local government areas. This initiative is a major milestone
in our mission to make housing more accessible and affordable for all
citizens."
On power, Diri explained that government was working
towards ensuring sustainable and independent power supply with the procurement
and eventual installation of a 60-megawatt gas turbine during the course of
this year.
He thanked the people for their patience during the
four months of power outage in the state.
On security,
Diri equally noted that the sector remained a top priority for his
administration and that concrete steps were being taken to strengthen the
state's position as one of the safest and most secure states in Nigeria.
In furtherance of this, he said new Closed Circuit
Cameras (CCTV) will soon be installed while the existing ones around the state
capital will be refurbished.
In tandem with ongoing efforts to revitalise and
strengthen the state's infrastructure, Diri said educational institutions and
healthcare facilities continue to receive critical attention and targeted
investment.
The governor reaffirmed the commitment to construct an
ultra-modern stadium in Yenagoa with facilities that will inspire and support
talented sportsmen and women in the state.
In agriculture,
Diri said: "We are proactively pursuing sustainable food production. To
this end, we shall be providing farmers in the state with comprehensive
support, including equipment, expert guidance, and high-quality seedlings and
stems.
"Already,
our partnership and bilateral relationship with the Republic of South Korea is
yielding positive results. A few days ago, I received a technical team from
South Korea who were in our state to train our farmers in modern rice
cultivation.
"The team has also installed state-of-the-art
rice processing mills at the School-to-Land farm in Yenagoa as we continue our
ambitious rice revolution programme. A core component of our agricultural and
food security agenda this term is the "Produce and Consume"
initiative, which emphasises the importance of producing what we eat and eating
what we produce.“
Comments:
Leave a Reply