Bayelsa shortchanged in federal appointment, infrastructure, says Diri 

Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has called on the Federal Government to give more opportunities to Bayelsans at the federal level, saying the state has been shortchanged for long.

Diri, who stated this in his office, when he received the Federal Commissioner representing Bayelsa in the Federal Character Commission (FCC), Mr. Tonye Okio, also promised to support the agency to ensure that the state gets its fair share of positions and infrastructure. 

His Acting Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, in a statement, quoted the governor as saying he was aware of the unfair distribution of federal positions and amenities among Nigerians, as a former member of the House of Representatives.

While advocating more openings for Bayelsans at the centre, Diri encouraged people of the state to be open to opportunities to fill the state’s quota at federal level.

Okio explained that the FCC had two mandates, although only one has so far been activated, which is ensuring equitable distribution of positions.

He said President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the commission to activate the second mandate, which is ensuring equitable distribution of social amenities.

Meanwhile, a Niger Delta based businessmen group, known as the Niger Delta Young Business Leaders Forum has condemned the recent alleged sponsored attacks and blackmail against Adokiye Tombomieye, the Chief Operating Officer (COO), Upstream of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

They warned that the campaign of calumny was a calculated attempt to intimidate, blackmail, extort and stampede Tombomieye for financial gains against the tenets of the office he occupies in the oil industry.

The group’s Coordinator, Richard Akinaka, said preliminary investigation by the group into the sponsored smear campaign showed that those behind it are a few selfish and corrupt Niger Delta indigenes, trying to drag the top NNPC official’s reputation into the murky waters of corruption and extortion.