NGOZI OKORIE
GOVERNOR Douye Diri of Bayelsa State has insisted that the ban on open grazing has come to stay in his state, noting that it is backed by law.
He particularly noted that Bayesa had no grazing route because the people were fishermen.
The Governor was reacting to reports that President Muhammadu Buhari had restored grazing routes across Nigeria.
He spoke in a state-wide broadcast to commemorate the 2021 Democracy Day on Saturday.
Recall that Bayelsa government seized 34 cows for breaching the state’s ban on open grazing, last week, vowing to enforce the law to the letter.
According to Diri, the N38bn refunds for federal projects has been discounted, while the state received N27bn which had been ploughed back into infrastructure projects.
He said, “The governors of the benefiting states met and it was obvious that it made sense to accept the discount option because some second term governors cannot have access to the money when they have left office.
“Also given the unpredictable inflation and foreign exchange rates, it made sense to go for the discount option, and I want to assure the people of Bayelsa that the decision was taken in the interest of the public.
“We got that money sometime in December 2020 and deployed it to work on theYenagoa-Oporoma Road which will connect headquarters of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area by road. Work is advancing at an impressive pace.”
“The Glory Land Drive Road, the AIT-Igbogene, Sagbama-Ekeremor road and so many projects that the previous administration could not complete are receiving attention and the people are free to go and see what we are doing with the refunds,” he noted.
