“I hosted selected Christian leaders at my country home today (Sunday). A few of them spoke and rather than criticising me very hard, they went to the reality of what we are doing in terms of infrastructure development and human capacity building. So, I felt, maybe, we were trying.”
“The Forum finds alarming the worsening security situation in the country, as evidenced in parts of the country especially Borno, Plateau, Katsina and Edo States. The Forum calls for review and reordering of priorities and strategies, including adopting a bottom-up template that guarantees the sub-nationals to constitute an effective line of defence against security breaches.
Governor Diri appreciated the management of Vanguard for the honour and dedicated the award to the good people of Bayelsa State, who have stood by him in his giant steps to providing good governance through quality projects delivery.
“We note that your leadership has brought a renewed sense of hope and optimism to the people of Bayelsa State. Your focus on people-oriented projects has endeared you to the hearts of the people, and has set a high standard for other leaders to follow.
“I am happy with the report on youths and how they are prepared to make compromise for the sake of peace. I urge chiefs to work with the committee. I will invoke my powers and will disrobe any chief who constitutes a cog in the wheel of progress.”
“For us, it is an opportunity to serve and we believe at the end of the day, these will speak for us. The schools we have built, the children we have trained, the empowerment of the youths and women are the things that will speak for us.”
“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.”
“I created the office of CSO in the Villa because of Moses. He died at a very young age but we thank God for giving him to us.”
“What propelled me to build a new secretariat was the civil servants’ request for office accommodation, which became a recurring decimal every Workers’ Day in the state.”
Amb. Igali’s message was not just a recounting of achievements but also a call to continued prayer and support for the Governor as he leads not only Bayelsa but also assumes the role of chairman of the South-South Governors Forum. “We know you’ll give leadership to the South-South,” he said, inspiring hope for a cohesive and strategic approach to regional governance.
