Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri has called on the Federal Character Commission to correct the under-representation of the state at the federal level and ensure that Bayelsa gets its due.
He noted that if the imbalances affecting Bayelsa and a few other states are addressed, the agitations in some states would reduce significantly.
Speaking in his office in Yenagoa when he hosted the Executive Chairman of the Federal Character Commission (FCC), Dr. Muheeba Dankaka and her entourage, Senator Diri said while he was a member of the House of Representatives, he was in the Federal Character Commission Committee where he noticed the imbalances in terms of federal placements.
A statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, quoted Diri as decrying the situation whereby available vacancies at the federal level are not to the knowledge of the government and people of the state and urged the commission to inform the government about openings to enable the people take advantage of such opportunities.
Diri described the commission as crucial to the unity and stability of Nigeria given the numerous ethnic groups clamouring for Justice.
“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.”
The governor expressed the willingness of the state government to work with the commission to achieve set goals and urged the members to shun partisanship in performance of their duties.
Earlier, the FCC Executive Chairman, Dr. Muheeba Dankaka, stated that the commission was established to promote national unity and foster a sense of belonging among all Nigerians.
While assuring the governor that Bayelsa would get its fair share of federal jobs and amenities, she noted that the commission is also consulting widely to ensure that the federal character principle was also practiced at state level.
Dr. Dankaka lauded the governor for his strides in peace and infrastructure development despite the difficult terrain and urged him not to relent in his service to people of the state.