Politics

Why Bayelsa Remains Backwards 26 Years After Creation – APC Chieftain

Published

4 years ago

January 7, 2022

A founding member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bayelsa State, Lokoja Richard Kpodoh, has accused successive governors and leaders of the state of abandoning the development plan drawn by experts after the creation of Bayelsa in 1996.

Kpodoh, a former Security Adviser in the state, said after the creation of Bayelsa by the late Gen. Sani Abacha, experts gathered and produced a plan for the state’s development.

But he regretted that the state’s backwardness started immediately after creation as successive leaders and governors pursued selfish agendas and failed to implement the plan.

Kpodoh in a statement said the egocentrism displayed over the years by successive administrations was the reason for the endemic poverty, hopelessness and underdevelopment despite the rich resources in the state.

He said: “We were lucky to have the late General Sanni Abacha, who created the state. When the Bayelsa state was created, some technocrats came up and drew a blueprint for the development of the state, unfortunately, governors did not follow that developmental plan, they dumped it. All they are doing in Bayelsa state is guesswork.

“Therefore, we started failing when we shunned a development plan; when governors refused to implement reasonable manifestos and when unprepared persons were handpicked to become governors”.

Kpodoh said Ijaw had persons of integrity and decided winners of elections in their parent old Rivers State but failed to deploy their knowledge and experience to develop their own state.

He said governors were fond of making fake and unfulfilled promises even when they knew they had no plan to achieve them.

He said: “When they want to come into power, they will make promises that can’t be achieved. The governors don’t even have a developmental plan to justify their major areas of concentration in terms of development.

“For instance, when you want to build a new house, you must first get your structural drawing and the house plan before you start building. But in Bayelsa state, the reverse has been the case, we don’t have a developmental plan.

“They forgot so soon that the Rivers State that we were created from had a development plan and if you visit that state you don’t need to be told that there is a development plan and it is decent, and you will see how it has been structurally developed. But in Bayelsa, the reverse has been the case, we don’t have it”.

Politics

Enugu Gov Mbah Set to Dump PDP

Published

22 hours ago

October 10, 2025

Editor

Enugu State Governor Peter Mbah is set to dump the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, next week.

National Chairman and Deputy National Chairman, South-East, of the APC, Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda and Emma Eneukwu, respectively, broke the news in Abuja on Friday.

The APC national leadership revealed Mbah’s imminent defection to the ruling party while swearing in the newly inaugurated members of the Enugu State caretaker committee, led by former state chairman, Ben Nwoye, at the party’s national headquarters in Abuja.

The governor is expected to announce his defection at an event schedule to hold in the state next week.

Chairman of the newly inaugurated caretaker committee, Nwoye, who confirmed the development, said the governor will join the ruling party alongside all his appointees.

There are speculations that Taraba State Governor, Agbu Kefas, is also set to join APC.

Politics

Makinde Calls Out Umahi Over Coastal Highway Cost Analysis

Published

1 day ago

October 10, 2025

Editor

Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has weighed in on the cost of the controversial Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project that was approved by President Bola Tinubu.

Makinde, who spoke at an event in a viral video on Friday, said there was no need for the Minister of Works, David Umahi, to be “dancing around the cost” of the project.

The governor was reacting to a heated exchange that unfolded live on television between Umahi and Arise TV presenter Rufai Oseni on Tuesday.

Oseni had requested the minister to analyse the cost of the project, kilometre by kilometre.

The request didn’t sit well with Umahi, who declared himself “professor” of practice in engineering while elaborating that the costs of the road in kilometres are not the same and would be too complicated for the journalist to understand.

He said, “These are elementary questions. And it makes no sense (sic). A process is ongoing, payment has been made, and you are saying, ‘how has this money been utilised?. The money is meant for the project, and it will be paid according to the work done.

“When a certificate is generated, and it is approved through a process in the Ministry of Works, it will then be given to the funders, who will, in turn, check if the works were done. How can you be asking for cost of kilometre? The prices are different. The next kilometre is different from the next kilometre.

“Keep quiet and stop saying what you don’t know. I’m a professor in this field. You don’t understand anything. I understand engineering very well. You have no knowledge of what you ask. You have no knowledge of what you’re asking.”

Oseni, who also refused to back down, responded, “Minister, it’s alright, keep dignifying yourself, and let the world know who you truly are.”

However, justifying the journalist’s question to the minister, Makinde said, “They asked a minister how much is the coastal road is, and then you (Umahi) are dancing around and going to say that no, the next kilometre is different from the next kilometres. Then what is the average cost?

“When we did the Oyo to Iseyin road then, it was about N9.99 billion, almost N10 billion. About 34 or 35 kilometres, average cost is about N238 million per kilometre.

“But when we did Iseyin to Ogbomoso, that was 76 kilometres, it was about N43 billion, average cost is about N500 million per kilometre. And we had two bridges, one over the Ogun river and then one at Ogbomoso end.”

The PUNCH reports that last year, the Federal Government announced the commencement of construction work on the 700km Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, which spans nine states and includes two spurs leading to the northern states.

Umahi made the announcement during the official handover of the first phase of the project, made up of 47.47 kilometers of dual carriageway, to Hitech Construction Company Limited, and which is to be constructed in concrete pavement.

This was contained in a statement issued by his Special Adviser (Media), Uchenna Orji.

According to him, the Minister who was in company with the Federal Ministry of Works’ Controller in charge of Lagos State, Mrs O. I. Kesha, emphasised the need for all contractors handling Federal Government’s road projects to deliver within a record time, noting that the government would not allow variation arising from delays or slow pace of work once mobilisation had been done.

Politics

2027: Oyo Gov, Makinde Speaks On Successor

Published

2 days ago

October 9, 2025

Editor

Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has said that the choice of who would succeed him in 2027 rests solely with the people of the state, not with political godfathers or entitlement claims.

Makinde said this on Thursday in Ibadan while flagging off the zonal stakeholders’ consultative forum and engagement meeting on the 2026 Budget.

According to the governor, the decision of who becomes the next governor of Oyo state rests on all eligible voters in the state.

“Oyo State has gone beyond the era of politics based on entitlement or propaganda.

“Rather, the people of the state are now more politically enlightened and they will only support leaders who present credible plans and demonstrate capacity for development,” he said.

Makinde, while reflecting on his own experience before coming into office in 2019, noted that leadership must be about accountability, not entitlement.

He recalled that many people doubted his capability when he first sought the governorship position, because he had not held any political office.

“In 2018, when I was consulting to become governor, there was no yardstick to measure me. I had never been a councillor or a local government chairman, but I asked the people to trust me and judge me by my actions,” he said.

The governor urged political leaders to focus on policies and projects that directly impact the lives of citizens rather than engaging in political theatrics.

He said his administration’s approach to challenges has been to present a clear roadmap for Oyo State’s development, “one that people can read, evaluate, and hold us accountable to.”

Makinde expressed optimism that the people of the state would continue to support leaders who prioritise progress, inclusivity, and the well-being of citizens over personal ambition.

Speaking at the 7th Stakeholders Consultative Forum, the governor said that his administration would continue to consult and engage with residents of the state on the making of the state’s annual budgets, with a view to knowing their aspirations and prioritising their needs.

He maintained that the stakeholders’ engagement was to enable his government to serve the residents of the state better through a bottom-up approach to development, noting that his administration began the tradition in 2019.

According to him, his government first separated the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning from the Ministry of Finance in order to ensure better management of the state’s resources and to avoid discrepancies.

He stated that the stakeholders’ engagement had resulted in better budget performances and economic development of the state.

Makinde reiterated that his government would continue to serve the interests of the people of the state by putting in place institutions that would ensure that the environment was safe and ready to attract investments.

He added that the state was growing rapidly and that this development had stopped rural-urban migration with the construction of Moniya-Iseyin Road, Iseyin-Ogbomoso Road, Oyo-Iseyin Road, among other infrastructural projects, which have opened rural communities.

Makinde is currently serving as governor for the second time.

The governor, whose term ends in 2027, had earlier this month advocated a single term of five or six years for elected political office holders across all levels of government in Nigeria, against the current double term of four years each.

He said a single term of five or six years is enough for any government to focus and serve the people and deliver on its mandate.

(NAN)