On Tuesday, Douye Diri, the Governor of Bayelsa State, stated that during his eight-year tenure, the outgoing President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), did not commence any new projects in any region of the state.
During the inauguration and handover ceremony of the Federal Secretariat Complex in Yenagoa, which is named after former President Goodluck Jonathan, Diri stated that although it was commendable that the Federal Government completed some of the projects initiated by Jonathan, there was no new project in Bayelsa State in the past eight years.
He highlighted that the Federal Government had observed the expensive nature of carrying out infrastructure projects in the state.
He emphasized that constructing a standard road of one kilometre in Bayelsa costs as much as constructing four or more kilometres of the same quality of road in other parts of the country.
The deputy of the governor, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, represented him at the event where it was noted that the cost of the Goodluck Ebele Jonathan Federal Secretariat had to be increased from N2.5bn to N3.1bn due to the 2012 flood.
Diri expressed hope that the Federal Government would be more careful in evaluating and executing project costs in Bayelsa State in the future, based on this experience.