By SONI DANIEL

A week after being declared governor by the Supreme Court, Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Diri Douye Diri, has described events that culminated in his emergence as governor as miraculous, saying that God has disappointed the enemies of the state who wanted to use extraneous forces to snatch Bayelsa by force for their pecuniary gains.

Senator Didi also said that given the way God brought him to power, he was determined to change the fortunes of Bayelsa people by taking concrete steps to reposition the state and create opportunities for the natives to flourish.

The governor, who made the declaration at a media parley with senior journalists in Abuja, on Sunday, announced that his administration would focus on growing the Bayelsa economy and veering it away from civil service to an agricultural and business-driven economy that would create wealth for the citizens.

“We will create a vibrant economy that would propel wealth creation, economic boom and industrial revolution that would make our people work for themselves instead of waiting for monthly allocations from Abuja, which is not helping our people and state for now,” Diri said.

“I will provide streetlights in Yenagoa, the state capital before my first 100 days in office and I will also strengthen the agricultural sector in the state to create the needed jobs and income for many households,” the governor said.

But reminded that his deputy, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpor, has been embroiled in certificate scandal like the sacked APC deputy governor, Diri declared that there was no similarity between the two and warned those who are parading the story to take note of possible defamation of his deputy and the consequence of such utterance.

The governor pointed out the name of his deputy was simply misspelt in his NYSC exception certificate and that he had on noticing the anomaly, deliberately wrote and drawn corps’ attention to it and asked them to correct it.

Diri said it would, therefore, be wrong to compare sacked APC deputy governorship candidate’s paper with that of his deputy governor, who had already sued those who caused the error for N200 million damages.

The governor also declared that contrary to the information being circulated in the media, he and his party did not drag the APC deputy governor to court for forgery but for presenting fake certificates to the Independent National Electoral Commission.

Governor Diri pointed out that the security agents were at liberty to try the deposed deputy govern governor for forgery if there was sufficient evidence to prove that he forged his certificates.

Diri announced that he was making efforts to settle his legal tussle with Timi Alaibe out of court and reconcile with him, having worked under his tutelage for 10 years and come to the conclusion that Alaibe is not someone who should be dispensed within the politics of the state. “Let me just appeal to Timi Alaibe to sheathe his sword and join me in the task of building Bayelsa State.

“He is one politician that no one can just push away from Bayelsa State and he is my brother,” Diri said of Alaibe,” the governor said. (Vanguard)

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