By David Owei

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bayelsa State, has issued a scathing rebuke of the Bayelsa State government over the proposed ₦100billion proposed ongoing stadium project at Igbogene, Yenagoa Local Government Area.

The opposition party, in a statement by its publicity secretary, Ikaebimo Mark, said it was shocked that a state grappling with widespread hunger, unemployment, poverty, poor healthcare, weak educational outcomes, and a struggling economy commits over 100 billion naira to a stadium project at the expense of investments.

The party stated that while it recognizes the importance of sports development and agrees that sporting infrastructure has a place in the development of any modern society, it is not convinced that the stadium project is worth pursuing at the expense of several graduates without jobs and residents of Bayelsa who cannot afford one meal a day and lack access to clean potable water.

The opposition party also criticised the state government for investing such huge funds in a stadium while the agriculture sector has been starved of funds and several small businesses are collapsing under harsh economic conditions.

It further dismissed the justification for the construction of the stadium by Senator Diri as a form of empowerment for the youth, stressing that youth empowerment involves improving the living conditions of the youths of the state.

‘’The PDP believes that the greatest infrastructure any government can build is the economic well-being of its people. Youth empowerment is not measured by the size of a stadium but by the number of young people gainfully employed, the number of thriving small businesses, the number of skilled entrepreneurs created, the volume of investments attracted, and the opportunities available for young people to build productive and prosperous lives.’’

The PDP lamented the neglect of the existing Samson Siasia Stadium, which has served Bayelsa for years, raising serious questions about the government’s claim that sports is its principal vehicle for youth empowerment.

It challenged the Diri government to make public the number of youths it had empowered for the past six years through sports and the full details of the project funding for the stadium.

The statement reads in part ‘’If sports truly constitute the government’s strategy for empowering young people, why has the state’s flagship stadium not been transformed into a vibrant hub for talent discovery, sports tourism, grassroots development, and sports-based enterprise. We challenge the administration to make public, full disclosure of names and particulars of Bayelsa Youths his administration has empowered in the last six years, using the Sampson Siasia stadium in Yenagoa.

‘’Bayelsans deserve to know the economic justification for multiple stadium projects at a time when the state urgently requires industrial parks, agro-processing centres, technology hubs, vocational training institutes, manufacturing clusters, and investment corridors capable of generating sustainable employment and wealth.

‘’The PDP therefore calls on the Bayelsa State Government to immediately publish the full details of the stadium project, including its procurement process, contract value, funding arrangements, project scope, implementation timeline, and expected economic returns. Bayelsans deserve complete transparency regarding a project of such enormous financial magnitude.’’

The party urged the Diri-led administration to immediately declare a State Economic Recovery, Wealth Creation, Employment Generation, and Food Security Initiative to confront the worsening hardship across the state.

It implored the government to rise up to its responsibility and invest in industries, agriculture, skills development, innovation, entrepreneurship, and private-sector growth if it truly desires to empower the youth.

By George Mgbeleke

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has hailed the rescue of pupils, teachers and other victims abducted from schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State after 56 days in captivity, while tasking the Federal Government to give equal importance to securing the release of schoolchildren and other victims still being held by kidnappers in Borno and Kaiama, Kwara State.

In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the party said every successful rescue should be celebrated but the real task lies in preventing the kidnappings in the first place.

The full statement read:

“The African Democratic Congress (ADC) hails the safe return of the pupils, teachers and other victims abducted from schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State after 56 harrowing days in captivity.

“We commend the security agencies and all those whose efforts made this rescue possible. Most importantly, we rejoice with the families whose long traumatic wait for the safe return of the victims has finally come to an end.

“However, even as we celebrate this positive development, we must not forget that many other families have lived through the same nightmare for much longer but appear not to receive the same level of attention.

“The pupils abducted in Borno State in May this year remain in captivity, while more than 100 people kidnapped in Kaiama, Kwara State are still in the den of kidnappers several months after. We believe that the suffering of these victims deserves the same urgency, determination as well as the national and international attention that brought the Oriire victims home.”

Coninuing the statement said,”Every successful rescue is worth celebrating. But every kidnapping is also a reminder that the primary duty of government is to ensure that citizens are not abducted in the first place. What we must not do is to get accustomed to measuring success by the number of rescue operations this government conducts.

” The true measure of success is whether parents across Nigeria can send their children to school without fear, whether travellers can use our roads without anxiety, and whether ordinary Nigerians can live their daily lives free from the constant threat of violent criminals.

“Under the Tinubu government, for too many Nigerians, insecurity has become an accepted part of everyday life. This is unacceptable. We cannot achieve meaningful economic growth, attract investment or build public confidence while kidnapping remains a recurring feature of national life.

“The ADC therefore calls on the Federal Government to sustain the momentum that led to the rescue of the Oriire victims and deploy the same resolve, intelligence and operational capacity towards securing the freedom of every Nigerian still being held by criminal elements. Every life matters equally. No victim should be forgotten because they are voiceless or lack vocal champions to keep their story on the headlines and national focus.

“We also urge the government to move beyond reactive security measures and implement a comprehensive security strategy that addresses the root causes of insecurity, strengthens intelligence gathering, improves inter-agency coordination, and restores effective state presence to protect vulnerable communities across the country.

“Today, we celebrate with the families in Oriire. But our celebration will not be complete until every abducted Nigerian returns home safely.”

By David Owei

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bayelsa State, has issued a scathing rebuke of the Bayelsa State government over the proposed ₦100billion proposed ongoing stadium project at Igbogene, Yenagoa Local Government Area.

The opposition party, in a statement by its publicity secretary, Ikaebimo Mark, said it was shocked that a state grappling with widespread hunger, unemployment, poverty, poor healthcare, weak educational outcomes, and a struggling economy commits over 100 billion naira to a stadium project at the expense of investments.

The party stated that while it recognizes the importance of sports development and agrees that sporting infrastructure has a place in the development of any modern society, it is not convinced that the stadium project is worth pursuing at the expense of several graduates without jobs and residents of Bayelsa who cannot afford one meal a day and lack access to clean potable water.

The opposition party also criticised the state government for investing such huge funds in a stadium while the agriculture sector has been starved of funds and several small businesses are collapsing under harsh economic conditions.

It further dismissed the justification for the construction of the stadium by Senator Diri as a form of empowerment for the youth, stressing that youth empowerment involves improving the living conditions of the youths of the state.

‘’The PDP believes that the greatest infrastructure any government can build is the economic well-being of its people. Youth empowerment is not measured by the size of a stadium but by the number of young people gainfully employed, the number of thriving small businesses, the number of skilled entrepreneurs created, the volume of investments attracted, and the opportunities available for young people to build productive and prosperous lives.’’

The PDP lamented the neglect of the existing Samson Siasia Stadium, which has served Bayelsa for years, raising serious questions about the government’s claim that sports is its principal vehicle for youth empowerment.

It challenged the Diri government to make public the number of youths it had empowered for the past six years through sports and the full details of the project funding for the stadium.

The statement reads in part ‘’If sports truly constitute the government’s strategy for empowering young people, why has the state’s flagship stadium not been transformed into a vibrant hub for talent discovery, sports tourism, grassroots development, and sports-based enterprise. We challenge the administration to make public, full disclosure of names and particulars of Bayelsa Youths his administration has empowered in the last six years, using the Sampson Siasia stadium in Yenagoa.

‘’Bayelsans deserve to know the economic justification for multiple stadium projects at a time when the state urgently requires industrial parks, agro-processing centres, technology hubs, vocational training institutes, manufacturing clusters, and investment corridors capable of generating sustainable employment and wealth.

‘’The PDP therefore calls on the Bayelsa State Government to immediately publish the full details of the stadium project, including its procurement process, contract value, funding arrangements, project scope, implementation timeline, and expected economic returns. Bayelsans deserve complete transparency regarding a project of such enormous financial magnitude.’’

The party urged the Diri-led administration to immediately declare a State Economic Recovery, Wealth Creation, Employment Generation, and Food Security Initiative to confront the worsening hardship across the state.

It implored the government to rise up to its responsibility and invest in industries, agriculture, skills development, innovation, entrepreneurship, and private-sector growth if it truly desires to empower the youth.