Benson Agadaga is the Chief of Staff to governor Duoye Diri of Bayelsa state. In a tell it all chat with EXCEL MAGAZINE INTERNATIONAL, he speaks on the administration of Senator Duoye Diri which he described as God ordained.
While commenting on the Thanksgiving ceremony of the state which was held on November 1st and 2nd, he said the state has every reason to thank God.
“Today we have a working government house, we want to thank God that we are moving forward. Many ask what we have achieved and this thanksgiving program is not just about wealth or gigantic projects we see around the place.
We can gather here peacefully and do thanksgiving because we have stability and peace looking at what has happened in other states in the country” he noted.
He also noted that this year has been particularly challenging.
“When Senator Duoye Diri came into power, we had the Coronavirus issue, that pandemic crumbled almost every institution in this world not only in Bayelsa state, many countries were locked down, yet this state was able to manage the situation and Bayelsa was kept safe” he noted.
He also said the state needs to thank God that despite all the challenges, the state is very safe and stands tall.
Speaking on the administration of Senator Duoye Diri, he noted that the Bayelsa state governor is rightfully called a Miracle governor.
“We call the governor a miracle governor. A situation where people came with guns, came with thugs to take over all the places in the state and declared themselves winner. At the end of it, the Supreme God used the supreme court to ensure that the mandate is gotten because if those people had won, Bayelsa state wouldn’t have been what it is today” he noted.
Chief Benson noted if not for governor Duoye, many persons would have used power to their own advantage to the detriment of the people of the state
“We have not reached there but we know that things will be better for the people of Bayelsa state and we will get to the promise land, this and many more reasons are why we thank God” he said.
On the diversification of the state economy away from Crude Oil, he noted that the state has an Oil well and the management of Crude Oil is managed by the Federal government in the exclusive list.
“This is why we talk about resource control, you know issues such as the Crude Oil is managed by the Federal government. We have been talking about the possibility of controlling our resources and maybe pay enough taxes to the federal government, it would have been better”.
“Oil was first discovered in Bayelsa state in 1956 in commercial quantity but the wealth from the Oil is not seen here, it is taken to Abuja before it gets to us and by the time it gets to us, it is nothing to write home about. We are wealthy but recently there is a story that the Oil bloc has been withdrawn when the state government has invested so much money into it”
“The biggest gas supply is found in Bayelsa state but the laws of the land do not give us ability to access them, so we are into Oil, we are into Agriculture. For prosperity to blossom we have been able to invest in different areas, we are investing still” he noted.
He praised the unity of purpose this government enjoys from past and even present leaders.
“We have shown that Politics is a game of love and we are ever united to move forward”
The thanksgiving event had present the general overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, Former President Goodluck Jonathan, Former Bayelsa governor, Seriake Dickson among many other key figures in the state.
