Bayelsa governor’s race: LP contender calls on Diri to disclose project costs

Prior to the state’s November 11 general election, Udengs Eradiri, the Labour Party’s candidate for governor in Bayelsa State, has urged Governor Douye Diri to be transparent about the costs of all his infrastructure projects.

Eradiri spoke with OBASANJO NEWS245 in Yenagoa in response to a statement made by Diri attacking him for saying that the governor spent N30 billion (or N3 billion per km) building the 10.2 km phase two Glory Drive Road in Yenagoa.

Through his chief press secretary, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, Diri responded to Eradiri’s accusation by calling the LP candidate an unrepentant liar.

Eradiri was chastised by Diri for repeatedly making false claims and producing erroneous figures in an effort to flaunt oneself and garner attention.

However, Eradiri claimed in an interview with OBASANJO NEWS24 that Diri wasted his time by branding him a liar without refuting the false claim.

The people of Bayelsa anticipated the governor to propose a different pricing for the project, perhaps less than the N30 billion, Eradiri remarked. The issue, not the history that Governor Douye Diri is wasting his time educating the people, is the inflated and exorbitant expense.

“Governor Diri needs to be transparent about the prices of all his initiatives.

“There is complete secrecy surrounding the cost of his project. I dare him to divulge the costs of some of these subpar initiatives if he has nothing to hide. The public deserves to know since it is not his money, but rather the money of the people.

“It defies belief that Diri used roughly ten paragraphs of his statement to accuse me of lying while failing to provide any evidence to refute the N30 billion expenditure on the 10 kilometre road.

“Bayelsa can no longer afford to host leaders who hide behind subpar projects and waste our limited commonwealth resources,”

“Trust in leadership is built on transparency and accountability in governance. It is never anything that can be ignored.