… Assures Govt Won’t Neglect The Church
The Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, has said contrary to unconstructive criticisms by some opposition elements against the present administration, the state is on the right track of development under the leadership of Governor Douye Diri.
Senator Ewhrudjakpo stated this when he granted audience to the Bayelsa State chapter of the Catholic Social Forum during a courtesy call at his office in Government House in Yenagoa.
The Deputy Governor, in a statement issued by his media aide, Mr Doubara Atasi, emphasized that remarkable progress has been made in the last three years of the prosperity administration in all critical sectors of the state.
He, however, noted that though the state is not yet where it ought to be, it’s making steady progress towards actualizing the envisioned new Bayelsa.
Describing the Church as an indispensable partner in progress, the Bayelsa number two man said as a government, the Governor Diri-administration would never neglect nor abandon the Church for any reason whatsoever.
He thanked the Bishop of the Diocese of Bomadi, Most Reverend Hyacinth Ogbebor and the Catholic Social Forum for the good work it was doing to canvas support for the re-election project of the Governor and himself in the forthcoming November 2023 election.
His words: “The Catholic Church is one church that has been noted for maintaining the sanctity of integrity over the years. Its leadership is not given to emotional sentiments. And so, if the Catholic Church makes a statement about anything or any person, her opinion is not motivated by any consideration other than the truth.
“For my Lord Bishop, who I know very well to ask you to go on this mission, it means the Governor Douye Diri and his administration has done above average. I know my Bishop. There is nobody he cannot address. He will always address you the way you are.
“It is not because I’m one of your own. But it is because the Lord Bishop is convinced that we are on the right trajectory. We may not be where we ought to be; but we are not where we used to be as far as progress is concerned in this state.”
Earlier, the patron of the Catholic Social Forum in the state, Sir Francis Elaweremi informed that the forum is a nationwide body coordinated by the laity to give necessary support to Christians especially Catholics, in governance and politics.
He said their current assignment was to move round all the catholic parishes across the state in order to drum up support for the PDP gubernatorial ticket, noting that they would not dwell on propaganda but on factual and empirical evidence of the progress made so far.
In a related development, the Northern Christian Fellowship (NCF), Bayelsa state chapter has also thrown their weight behind the re-election project of Governor Diri and his Deputy, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo.
The NCF voiced their support during a courtesy call on the Deputy Governor in Government House.
The Patron of the fellowship in the state, Mr. Williams Garba, said they were quite impressed with the performance of the present administration in terms of infrastructure, security, workers’ welfare, religious tolerance, social and economic empowerment, amongst others.
Mr. Garba, who highlighted some challenges currently being faced by the Christian faithful of northern extraction in the state, appealed to the state government to provide them a piece of land to erect a few structures to meet their accommodation needs.
Responding, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, thanked them for their support and assured that government would carefully look into the issues raised with a view to addressing them.
