Media stakeholders in Bayelsa State have commended the Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, over his infrastructural projects in the State.
Speaking in Yenagoa, the State capital, at a parley with the Governor’s Technical Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Dr. Wisdom Oniekpar Ikuli, the media stakeholders said the governor’s infrastructural revolution has put Bayelsa in the comity of fast developing states in the country.
They described the State Chief Executive as a leader with the requisite experience and ideas whose initiatives has transformed the State into a safe haven for investment to thrive.
The Journalists also said the governor’s investment in peace building and security has further ensured that lives and properties across the State were protected.
On the Governor’s disposition towards media practitioners in the State, the media executives andlers needed to improve for the better on their dealings with Journalists. stated that while he enjoys a cordial relationship with journalists, some of his media handlers needed to improve for the better on their dealings with Journalists.
“Diri has done well for Bayelsa State. His infrastructural projects and peaceful disposition has endeared him to Bayelsans across party lines and even non-partisans from and outside the state. “We call on the governor not to relent in his efforts at a continued development of the State.
“As media stakeholders it has always been our intention to engage in factual and positive reportage of the state and the Diri’s administration.
“We like to further ask that the governor extends his magnanimity to us in terms of including Journalists in the Bayelsa State insurance scheme as well as provide practicing Journalists with financial support to enable them cope with the prevailing economic realities”, the Journalists said.
Earlier, Dr. Ikuli commended the Governor for the developmental transformation in the state, particularly the three senatorial roads which will link the State to the sea, saying the wealth of the state is in the Blue economy.
He noted that prior to the Diri-led “Assured Prosperity” administration, the State was 75% riverine and was therefore mainly accessible by boats, adding that with the extant of developmental revolution by the State Government, the worrisome trend across the State has reversed due to road projects executed and some ongoing in the hinterlands.
“The governor’s investment in road construction, especially the three Senatorial roads to Brass, Agge and Koluama, as the governor has to open up the hintherlands for development. well as the several connecting spurs are a testament to the Political will the governor has to open up the hintherlands for development.
“Diri’s administration has opened the State for investment with the construction of the 60 megawatts gas turbine.
“His massive investment in technical education is intended to curb the skill gap in the State. Very soon Bayelsa will be exporting skilled labour to other parts of the country”, Ikuli said.

Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa

Barring any changes, the Mbiama Community of Ahoada-West Local Government Area (AWELGA) of Rivers State would on Sunday, December 27, 2026, coronate her paramount ruler-elect, HRH Otovie Smith Sylvanus for a second term.
Speaking with newsmen, the Chairman, Community Development Committee (CDC) of the Community, Engr. Moore Sokari, said after the first five year term of the paramount ruler, the community had to re-elect him for another tenure due to his track record of achievements.
He noted that within the first five years of the monarch reign, the community has experienced maximum peace and became more united to fast track development.
Sokari emphasised that but for the dogged and harmonious working relationship which the monarch-elect has allowed to exist between himself and stakeholders of the community, the achievements recorded in the community would not have been possible, saying that the paramount ruler’s humility and honesty makes him an uncommon leader.
“We re-elected our paramount ruler recently for another tenure of five years because of the peace and development he has brought to this community.
“Before him, there were other paramount rulers who all tried their best. But we think and know that amongst all that we’ve had in the most recent years, he’s the very best.
“Today in Mbiama, there’s peace. And lives and properties of our people and residents are secured. You can sleep with your two eyes closed without fear of the unknown, courtesy of the paramount ruler we have, HRH Otovie Smith Sylvanus.
“We’ve fixed 27th December, 2026 for his second tenure Coronation. And we know that he would consolidate on the achievements of his first tenure”, he said.
Earlier, the monarch-elect, who reeled out his scorecard, said aside security of lives and properties in the community, under his stewardship, the community has opened up more internal roads and streets waiting for construction.
He described the Community as the commercial hub within the Orashi region of Rivers State, urging the Niger Delta Development Commission(NDDC), the Rivers State Government and the Ahoada-West Local Government Area to consider the community in the award and execution of infrastructure projects.

Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa

The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has intensified efforts to secure community buy-in for its development projects through stakeholder engagement, community monitoring committees and partnerships with traditional institutions, youth and women’s organisations, as part of a strategy to achieve lasting peace in the oil-rich region.
The Commission’s Managing Director, Dr. Samuel Ogbuku, said sustainable peace in the Niger Delta would depend not just on security operations, but on making communities active participants in development planning, implementation and monitoring.
Ogbuku spoke in Abuja while delivering the Distinguished Personality Lecture at the National Institute for Security Studies (NISS), with the theme, “Peace Building Through Development: The Strategic Role of the NDDC in Stabilising the Niger Delta Region.”He said the Commission had moved away from a transactional approach to development towards a transformational model designed to build public trust, strengthen community ownership and create sustainable economic opportunities.

A major component of the strategy, according to him, is the introduction of Community Monitoring Committees, which gives host communities a direct role in monitoring development projects and ensuring that interventions meet their needs.
He explained that the initiative, unveiled at the Commission’s 2026 Partners for Sustainable Development Conference in Port Harcourt, was intended to make communities stakeholders and owners of development projects rather than passive beneficiaries.
Ogbuku said the Commission had also presented a Stakeholder Document to strengthen engagement with communities and provide a framework for more inclusive development interventions.
“When a community monitors a project, it has a greater stake in protecting that project. When governments listen to communities, they are more likely to trust them. Transparency underpins trust, and trust underpins peace”, he said.
He added that the NDDC had introduced its “Rewind to Rebirth” initiative to recalibrate its engagement with Niger Delta stakeholders and reposition its intervention programmes to deliver more meaningful results.
The Managing Director stated that decades of relying largely on security enforcement had shown that lasting peace could not be achieved without addressing the development deficits and economic frustrations confronting the region.
“Experience has taught us that you cannot sustainably secure what you have persistently failed to develop”, he said.
He stressed the importance of coordinating development interventions across the region, warning that duplication of projects and perceived inequality in resource allocation could fuel resentment and undermine peace.
Ogbuku said the NDDC was collaborating with the Ministry of Regional Development, under Engr. Abubakar Momoh, to a National Policy on Regional Development.

harmonise regional development master plans within the framework of a National Policy on Regional Development.
He identified the Partners for Sustainable Development Forum, established under the NDDC Act, as a key platform for coordinating interventions by government agencies, state and local governments and development partners.
The NDDC boss cited the 27-kilometre Ogbia-Nembe Road in Bayelsa State, which connects 14 communities through 99 culverts and 14 bridges, as an example of the benefits of collaboration.
The project was executed in partnership with Shell Petroleum Development Company.
He also highlighted the Commission’s memorandum of understanding with the Nigeria LNG Limited for the Bonny Ring Road and the 3.65-kilometre Okrika-Borikiri Road, featuring three bridges, in Rivers State.
On youth restiveness, Ogbuku said the Commission was convinced that providing viable economic alternatives was more effective than relying solely on security measures to discourage criminality.
He argued that young people needed access to jobs, skills acquisition, agriculture, business opportunities and finance to make legitimate livelihoods more attractive than illicit activities.
“You cannot simply tell a young person to drop the arms without providing an alternative pathway to dignity and livelihood. That alternative may be a farm, a skill, a business, access to finance or a job”, he said.
Ogbuku further disclosed that the Commission had strengthened its corporate governance framework through measurable Key Performance Indicators and the digitisation of internal processes, including e-procurement, electronic contract award letters and the Electronic Memo platform.
He commended President Bola Tinubu for directing the NDDC to complete ongoing projects and introducing a performance bond to strengthen accountability in project delivery.
The Managing Director also announced the completion of the 1.2-kilometre Kaa-Ataba Bridge in Rivers State, linking Khana and Andoni local government areas, which he said would be named the President Tinubu Bridge.
He called for collective responsibility in sustaining peace, and urged traditional rulers to serve as peace ambassadors, youth and women’s groups to participate in project monitoring, and state and local governments to work with the Commission as development partners.
He also urged security agencies to recognise development institutions as partners in preventive security, rather than viewing peace-building solely through the lens of enforcement.
Earlier, the Commandant of the National Institute for Security Studies, Mr. Joseph Odama, said the lecture brought together members of the intelligence and security community, opinion leaders and analysts to explore a new approach to national development.Odama described Ogbuku as a pragmatic leader whose contributions to the Niger Delta were informed by experience and knowledge.
The NISS Commandant subsequently presented the NDDC Managing Director with the “Distinguished Personality of the Year Award” in recognition of his contributions to peace in the region.

By: AriweraIbibo-Howells, Yenagoa