Bayelsa is one of the states that has been cheated over the years – Gov. Diri

The Executive Governor of Bayelsa State, Douye Diri, claimed the state has been cheated at the federal level over the years.

The governor disclosed this in a statement through Daniel Alabrah, the governor’s spokesperson, in Yenagoa, the state capital, when he hosted Muheeba Dankaka, executive chairman of the Federal Character Commission (FCC), on Wednesday.

The governor said he noticed imbalances in federal placements when he was a member of the house of representatives.

In his words “It is only when we know of the vacancies that we can take advantage of the opportunities. If the imbalances affecting Bayelsa and a few other states are addressed, the agitations in some states will reduce significantly.”

“The Federal Character Commission is inevitable in a heterogeneous society like ours. The commission can sort out a lot of the inequality and challenges we face because of our heterogeneous nature.

“It is a very good weapon in solving the issues of ethnicity and mutual suspicion among ethnic nationalities that make up Nigeria. I like to place on record that Bayelsa state is under-represented.

“Bayelsa is one of the states that has been cheated, over the years and the inequality in relation to other states is so high that we request that your commission addresses this imbalance,” Diri said.

The governor added that available vacancies at the federal level were hardly brought to the knowledge of the government and people of the state.

“It is only when we know of the vacancies that we can take advantage of the opportunities. If the imbalances affecting Bayelsa and a few other states are addressed, the agitations in some states will reduce significantly,” Diri said.