Odahiekwu Ogunde, Yenagoa
Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, has donated food items and money to the elderly and the blind in the state as part of the measures to cushion the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The food items distributed to the scores of the beneficiaries comprised rice, yam, garri and cash donation of N10,000 each.
The governor, who made these donations through a renowned philanthropist, Doubara Kumokou, in his residence in Igbogene, appealed to the beneficiaries to remain calm and be patient with the government.
He noted that his government was capable of taking care of the needs of every citizen in the state, admonishing them to pray for God’s blessings upon him to enable him to do more for the people of state.
The beneficiaries thanked the governor for his show of love towards the elderly in the society, praying that God would continue to be with him and fight all his secret battles for considering the elderly in their moment of needs.
They said they were overwhelmed by his kind gesture towards them and encouraged him not to relent in giving back to the society.
Meanwhile, as the cabinet list is expected to be known this week, a group under the auspices of Indigenous Newspaper Publishers Association of Nigeria has advised Governor Douye Diri to make wise choices.
INPAN said the choice of persons the governor would pick to work with him would determine the success or failure of his acclaimed prosperity government.
In a statement jointly signed by its President, Mr Ebi Ozegbe and Secretary, Mr Ajiroghene Odhe, INPAN admonished the governor to avoid the temptation of political compensation as criteria for selecting his appointees as such mistakes by his predecessors were catastrophic.
INPAN further advised Diri to look beyond political lines in search of competent hands that would work with him to bring his prosperity agenda to fruition.
Noting that information management and dissemination were critical tools for any development-oriented government, the indigenous publishers called on the governor to make sure he built his media team around practitioners who had practised in the state and conversant with how the media works in Bayelsa.