MICHAEL AKINOLA
Meeting with delegates in various locations in Yenagoa ahead of the forthcoming PDP governorship primaries in Bayelsa state, the aspirant who has emerged as the most acceptable, Amb. Godknows Boladei Igali, has emphasized that the forthcoming November 16 election is about the future of Bayelsa State and the Ijaw ethnic group.
Dressed in the usual traditional Ijaw dress of a woko and wrapper, the renowned diplomat, who majority of Bayelsans and delegates now put their hope on, took time in his interaction to assure the delegates that with mature, experienced and visionary leadership, the children of the Ijaw nation and Bayelsa State in particular, will have a future that will guarantee the best standard of living in Nigeria.
In his words, Amb. Igali stated “With all the work that previous Governors that is Alamieyeseigha, Jonathan, Sylva and Dickson have done; we are at a point of moving forward or going back in our journey of building a virile Ijaw nation. It is critical that we lay down sentiments and put in a Governor in whom we can entrust the future”.
Igali, an astute administrator, stressed that the greatest gifts, which we can pass on to our children, are the fear of God and the assurance of a secured future. “That future must ensure that these our children like the 10 months old baby Testimony, whom I am carrying in my hands right now, will grow to know that our generation took the right decisions and toiled to make them have the best standard of living around our country and around Africa. After all, the generations before us, most of whom have passed on, worked to create a Rivers State and later Bayelsa for us; for this we honour and cherish their memory. For this we also remember their names with deepest respect and appreciation. We therefore have no choice but to leave behind something, which our children will remember us for, that is building an egalitarian society, where the people live in safety, in social and economic comfort, in dignity, in good health, clean environment and total fulfilment in life”.
While offering baby Testimony from Ekeremor, whom he described as a super delegate, lifelong scholarship up to PhD level, Amb. GOdknows Igali maintained that if elected Governor of Bayelsa State, indeed Ijaw nation will overtake all of Nigeria on the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which he stated will be the benchmark for assessing the programme, projects and activities of government.
He therefore promised among other things free and compulsory primary and secondary education, easy access to education loan and bursary at tertiary level, full scholarship for teachers and female engineering, medicine and science based students. He also plans to provide full and comprehensive health insurance coverage for all residents in Bayelsa and particularly free health services for infants, children and the aged. Igali also promised massive housing on mortgage financing programme, widespread entrepreneurship and job creation programmes based on agriculture, deepsea fishing, maritime and marine industry, oil and gas and the service sector.
As contained in his manifesto, he will also proffer solutions to tackling security and various environmental problems. He equally elaborated on his plans for the revival of the Ijaw culture and the development of a central Ijaw language.