Bayelsa State Governor Douye Diri has explained how he came to be known as the “miracle governor” because of his unwavering faith in God.
The governor said this on Friday at the Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area Annual Day of Thanksgiving, which was held in the Sampou region of the state, according to a statement released on Saturday by his chief press secretary, Daniel Alabrah.
Diri revealed that in 2020, a senior Nigerian citizen invited him to Abuja and suggested that he follow specific rites if he wished to become governor, but he declined.
He said that the Supreme Court was still considering his appeal against the All Progressives Congress candidate’s announcement as the victor of the November 2019 gubernatorial election.
Diri informed the attendees that the elderly man had flown in some marabouts from Senegal to carry out the ceremonies, and when he flatly refused the offer, the man sought a reimbursement of the $10,000 that had been paid to bring them into the country.
Given the amount of progress they have seen, the governor said, the KOLGA people have reason to be grateful to God. He also thanked the council for providing legislative support for Thanksgiving Day.
Additionally, Governor Diri thanked the convener, the head of the Royal House of Grace Church, Apostle David Aggrey, and everyone who has supported the program.
“I thank God and also thank Apostle David Zilly Aggrey because he started this event. And because his prayers were heard, God made it possible to bring me in, and today, it is by law that all Kolokuma/Opokuma people can gather to praise God.
“Let me reveal to you why it is important to thank God and have faith in Him. Sometimes ago, a senior citizen of this country invited me to Abuja and asked me to perform certain sacrifices, but I declined. I told him my faith in God would not allow me to do it. He got angry and told me I would never become governor.
“He told me that he had spent $10,000 to bring the people for the sacrifice and asked for a refund, which I obliged. When the Supreme Court’s pronouncement came, the man was shocked and could not call me. Sadly, he passed on after some time. The story I have narrated was witnessed by my deputy and a friend in Abuja as both of them accompanied me to visit the senior citizen.
“Kolokuma/Opokuma people have every reason to thank God. As a state, we do not want anybody to be harmed in the name of politics because we do not know who God has destined for greatness. So I call on all of us in the political game to be very civil and recognise that there is God who rules in the affairs of man.”
During his welcome speech, Tariye Lelei, the chairman of the Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area, stated that the locals should be grateful to God for the governor’s gift.
Lelei claimed that the local government enacted legislation allowing Thanksgiving to be celebrated on January 17 of each year as a way of acknowledging the goodness of God in their life.
Apostle David Aggrey stated in his sermon that if the younger generation does not give thanks to God for what He has done for them, they may be considered ingrates because they have not experienced the hardships that the older generation in the local government area has faced.
Aggrey congratulated the state’s citizens for allowing him to run for a second term and claimed that Bayelsa was seeing amazing progress under Diri.