The Bayelsa State Government says, plans are on to fully re-kit its
security outfit, code named, ‘Operation Doo Akpo’ as well as procure
additional patrol vehicles to beef up security in Yenagoa and its
environs.
Governor Seriake Dickson, who made this known in Yenagoa, while
interacting with newsmen, assured that, the marine component of
Operation Doo Akpo would be activated to partner with other security
agencies, in stemming security challenges on the waterways,
particularly in Brass local government area.
Expressing concern over the activities of sea pirates and other
criminal acts on the waterways, the Governor, however, maintained
that, in spite of the pockets of violence in the Niger Delta, Bayelsa
still remains one of the most peaceful states in the country.
According to him, in the coming year, 2017, his administration will
scale up investments in the security sub sector by acquiring
state-of-the-art- communication gadgets and other facilities to also
curb petty crimes in the state capital to make Bayelsa safer again.
His words: “Security aspect is very sensitive because even if we do
everything, the airport, all the hotels, and all the companies, nobody
will come here to work and expand our economy if the state is not
secure.
“For this state to be secure, all communities must cultivate a healthy
security lifestyle by being security conscious. So everyone must join
hands and work for peace and security and it begins from our homes.”
Governor Dickson, who posited that in the last 4 years, the government
made substantial investments in the security sub sector, stressed the
need for all to make security a collective business, as the government
alone cannot shoulder the responsibility of maintaining law and order.
On plans to improve power supply, he explained that, in 2017, the
government would ensure the conclusion and implementation of all
investments in the sector, with a view to boosting its
industrialization drive.
Governor Dickson noted that, his administration has created a power
hub at Imiringi in Ogbia and Okolobiri in Yenagoa local government
areas and the government officials are in discussions with investors
to harness the state’s potential in power, as Bayelsa is endowed with
more gas reserves than any state in the country.
“Bayelsa has more gas more than any state in the country. It is
possible for the state to be the champion of power. Bayelsa is a state
people should come and invest. We have created a power hub at Imiringi
and Okolobiri and other parts of the state with steady power supply.”