By: Ramon Odieh, Yenagoa.

The Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri has reiterated his commitment to executing infrastructure projects across the state.

He said his desire for doing such projects was to improve on the living standards of citizens of the State.

The governor stated this in Ayakoro community, home town of the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Dr. Samuel Ogbuku at the weekend during the 68th anniversary celebration of the historic relocation of the community from its old location to their present settlement.

The annual festival tagged, ‘Eyal Obeyin’, commemorates the community’s historic relocation from its old settlement due to worsening erosion in 1958.

According to the governor, when infrastructure projects are executed in the rural communities, people could live there while working in the state capital and return home safely.

He noted that it was based on this notion that his administration was constructing then Yenagoa-Angiama-Oporoma-Ubie road, the Akaba-Okodi road and others across the state.

He said: “Upon our swearing-in in 2020 I became a Covid-19 Governor. Remember the issue of Covid, and shortly after that in 2022 the state experienced the worst flooding in which we’re totally cut-off from the rest of the country.

“I visited all the 105 political wards of the state to see the impact of the flood in our communities across the state. What I saw in Ayakoro then wasn’t different from what I saw in other communities affected by the flood.

“Today we can see a new Ayakoro, courtesy of what my brother and friend, the MD/CEO NDDC is doing. Some people like talking down on others. But if you investigate properly you’ll find out that they are the ones doing what they accuse others of. I don’t believe in running people down. We must stop that kind of politics.

“Ayakoro is one of the benefiting communities of the Akaba-Okodi road project. And that road has gone far. I don’t think that from the point the road has reached to Ayakoro community is up to 2km. We’re determined to develop Bayelsa state with infrastructural projects”.

He promised that once the Gas Turbine is commissioned in March 2026, Ayakoro will be the first community to be beneficiary.

Earlier in his speech, Chairman of the occasion, Chief Obinna Iyiegbu, popularly referred to as Obi Cubanna who doubles as Chairman of the Cubanna group commended the Ayakoro community for maintaining their culture and tradition with the festival.

Chief Iyiegbu described cultural fiestas as veritable tools for attracting tourists and investments, saying what he has witnessed in the community depicts love and bonding as well as shows how peaceful the community is.

In his remarks, while commending the governor for projects initiated and executed by his administration in the community and other parts of the state, the MD/CEO, NDDC, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku also praised the Bayelsa State Chief Executive for finding time to attend this year’s event.

He further appealed that more projects be awarded and carried out by the government in the community to complement existing ones executed by the NDDC and the governor’s administration.

He said: “Your Excellency, the secondary school building standing close to this arena is a project done by your administration. As community while we appreciate what you’ve done for us, we also want to appeal that you carry out more projects in this community so as to complement the existing ones carried out by your administration and the NDDC”.

Earlier, the Chairman of the community’s Council of Chiefs, Chief Pureaziba Akpoti gave a highlight of the festival, noting that prior to the formal relocation of the community to its present location, its people were scared of that part of the community as it was a deep forest which the people held the believed that spirits and other dreaded creatures lived.

Chief Akpoti said: “It took prayers, and consultation with a spiritualists for the community to successfully cross over to this new site in 1958. This place used to be a forest in which our people held onto the believe that spirits and other dangerous creatures lived”.