Publisher Rates Diri High On Security, Criticises 'Stringent' Conditions For Assessing Students' Loan

By Odhe John

Yenagoa, Bayelsa - The Publisher and Editor-In-Chief of a Yenagoa based Niger Delta Herald Newspaper, Mr. Francis Dufugha has commended the Bayelsa State governor, Senator Douye Diri for the presence of relative peace in the State.

The publisher also expressed resentment over what he described as stringent conditions to assess the Bayelsa State Students Loan scheme, especially the common citizens.

The publisher made the observations while briefing journalists at the Earnest Ikoli Press Centre, Ekeki, in Yenagoa, the State capital.

On peace and security, Dufugha said, "I commend the governor. There is relative peace in the State. 

"For now, the police in Bayelsa State are using drones to monitor red flag areas that can cause security breaches and that has really encouraged the peace in Bayelsa State.

"The security situation has improved and we commend the government for that. We cannot deny the fact that there is relative peace in the State."

On the State's students loan, the publisher accused the scheme of having elitist posture due to its accessibility process.

The Niger Delta Herald publisher argued that it would be difficult for the ordinary Bayelsan to provide a Level-17 civil servant as guarantor to be able to benefit from the scheme, describing it as a systemic denial of the less privileged.

He pointed out that the loan was supposed to be a succour to indigent Bayelsa parents and students who could not assess education easily, noting that such persons should not be made to face cumbersome situations before assessing the financial instrument.

On road infrastructure, while the Editor-In-Chief commended the Diri's administration on the work done on the three senatorial district roads, demanded that more needed to be done.

Describing Bayelsa as a wealthy state, Dufugha asserted that the oil rich state needed to see more development strides comparing the State's current financial status.

"Bayelsa is not a poor state in terms of public revenue. We are an oil producing state. We receive federal allocations. We receive derivation revenue. We have access to enormous public resources.

"We receive interventions. Yet, after all these years, the ordinary citizen is still asking, what exactly are we getting for our money? Where are the industries?Where are the jobs? Where are the functional health institutions?

"Where is the agricultural transformation? Where is the human capital development? Where is the economic diversification?," the publisher queried.

He enjoined the government to redouble effort in the education and health subsectors, adding that it would pay the state a lot if there were centres for the treatment of critical health cases such as cancer and others in order to save lives and avoid capital flight.

Dufugha urged the government and the general public not to misunderstand his message as hatred or personal issues with the governor but see it as a constitutional and professional duty to hold government accountable.