Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State has accused the Federal Government of denying the state its fair share of federal appointments and infrastructure.
Diri made the accusation when he received the Federal Commissioner representing the state at the Federal Character Commission (FCC), Tonye Okio, in Government House, Yenagoa on Friday.
While urging the Federal Government to give more appointments to Bayelsans, he promised to support the agency to ensure that the state gets its fair share of positions and infrastructure.
Diri’s Acting Chief Press Secretary, Daniel Alabrah, in a statement, quoted the Bayelsa helmsman as saying that as a former member of the House of Representatives, he was aware of the unfair distribution of federal positions and amenities among Nigerians.
He said the commission had a lot to do to ensure fairness and justice and urged Bayelsans to be open to opportunities to fill the state’s quota at the federal level.
The governor thanked Okio for the visit describing it as a sign of political maturity and urged him to ensure that when opportunities are available, they are distributed equitably to Bayelsans irrespective of political affiliation.
His words: “We thank you for this visit. It shows that you also live above partisan politics and that is the only way we can grow as a state. Once elections are over, litigations are over, we all join hands to talk about the development of our state.
“I assure you that our prosperity administration will support you and work with you to ensure that our state gets its rightful place in terms of appointments, employment, fairness and equity in distribution of socio-economic infrastructure.”
In his remarks, Tonye Okio said the purpose of the visit was to introduce himself and other members of his team to the governor and to solicit his support to enable them succeed in their assignment.
Okio disclosed that the Federal Character Commission has two mandates, but pointed out that only one has so far been activated, which is ensuring equitable distribution of positions.
He stated that President Muhammadu Buhari has however directed the commission to activate the second mandate, which is ensuring equitable distribution of social amenities and assured Diri of his readiness to ensure that the state gets its fair share.
In his words: “It is not possible for me to do this job alone. I must do it with you. We must work together. The state must work with me otherwise I will fail. I cannot succeed without the state.”
