Just In: Stop Junketing, Face Governance – Sylva’s Aide Blasts Diri (Full-Text)

Just In: Stop Junketing, Face Governance – Sylva’s Aide Blasts Diri (Full-Text)

Julius Bokoru, the Special Assistant on Media and Public Affairs to former Governor of Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylva, has criticized Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri for his frequent local and international trips, accusing him of neglecting governance.

Speaking in Yenagoa over the weekend, Bokoru described Diri as a “junketing governor” who has abandoned his responsibilities. He claimed that Diri’s frequent travels have significantly strained the state’s finances.

Bokoru noted that since the 2023 governorship election, Diri has been persistently traveling for personal interests, ignoring the hardships faced by the people of Bayelsa who need targeted government policies and programs.

He said:

“While serious governors are thinking out of the box, rolling out programs to reduce the high cost of living, and still embarking on legacy projects, Diri has been globetrotting.

“The Bayelsa governor has been looking for every opportunity to jet out of the state. He has become a fun-seeking governor; he has been fiddling while Rome burns.

“We challenge Diri to reel out real humanitarian interventions that his government has embarked upon to assist the Federal Government in confronting the economic hardship in the state.

“Even when the Federal Government sends palliatives to states, the people of Bayelsa under Diri don’t even know what happened to their share of the palliatives. We understand that most of them are diverted to entertain burial guests.

“Diri is no doubt one of the governors making things difficult for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He is hell-bent and fixated on driving negative narratives against the President because we understand that there is a plot to make him the running mate of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar in the next presidential election.”

Bokoru further alleged that Diri spends most of his time in Abuja, seeking to influence the judiciary in the ongoing appeal court case between him and Chief Timipre Sylva.

He said:

“He is rather seen routinely in Abuja in money-laden convoys, using Bayelsa taxpayers’ money, attempting to induce judiciary characters in light of the ongoing court case.

“Our judiciary cannot and will not be bought. Ordinary Bayelsans need those monies for roads, electricity, education, food, transportation, and sustenance. If those monies had been well utilized, this frenzied movement would have been unnecessary.”

The aide’s statements reflect growing tensions and accusations of mismanagement and neglect of governance by Governor Diri, amid a backdrop of political rivalry and legal battles in Bayelsa State.