The Ijaw National Congress (INC) has said the poor state of development in Bayelsa State is very disturbing.

It noted that despite the huge revenue allocations that had accrued to the state over the years, there were no quality educational infrastructure and social basic amenities for the people.

The newly inaugurated President of INC, Professor Benjamin Okaba, said these on Saturday during an interview in a phone-in programme on Rhythm 94.7 FM radio station in Yenagoa, which was monitored by our correspondent.

Okaba, a professor of Sociology at the Federal University, Otuoke, Bayelsa State, attributed the social, economic and infrastructure backwardness of the state to leadership failure over the years.

He said that Bayelsa had no justification for the glorified-city-status of Yenagoa, the state capital, adding that the state had recorded poor development strides among the South-South states.

The Ijaw leader said, “There is leadership problem in Bayelsa State. It is the leadership question. What else does the state need? We have a voting population that is less than one million. We are just eight local government areas. In fact, what comes to Bayelsa is about four times higher than what goes to (some) other states.

“There is no justification for where we are. No water is running in Bayelsa State. Our schools are poor with bad infrastructure; the economy is down, there is high level of poverty. It is unacceptable.”

Okaba further pointed out that the leadership deficit in Bayelsa had not been helped by sycophancy and pull-him-down syndrome as well as acts of wickedness on the part of followers.

According to him, the over 70 court cases the state recorded as a result of the November 2019 governorship election were an indication of serious distraction to governance process in the state.

Okaba, however, expressed hope that the incumbent Governor Douye Diri would be able to have “a good insight” and chart a new path for the proper development of Bayelsa.(Sunday Independent)

Update news