Diri dancing around accountability, transparency – LP’s Eradiri

Nathan Tamarapreye, Yenagoa

The Bayelsa Labour Party Governorship Candidate, Udengs Eradiri, has told the state Gov Douye Diri, to stop dancing around accountability and transparency in governance.

Eradiri spoke on Friday in Yenagoa while reacting to Diri’s statement criticising him for disclosing to the public that the governor spent N30 bn to construct 10.2 km phase two Glory Drive Road in Yenagoa amounting to N3bn per kilometre.

Eradiri said Diri dissipated his energy calling him a liar without justifying the bogus figure.

Eradiri said: “The people of Bayelsa expected Governor Douye Diri to provide a contrary cost for the project, something lower than the N30bn. The inflated and outrageous cost is the issue, not the history that Governor Douye Diri is dissipating his energy telling the people.

“Governor Diri should come clean on the costs of all his projects. Everything about the cost of his project is shrouded in secrecy. If he has nothing to hide, I challenge him to publish the costs of some of these substandard projects. It is not his money; it is the people’s money and the people deserve to know.

“It beats our imagination that Diri used about 10 paragraphs of his statement calling me a liar without providing any figure to contradict the N30bn spent on 10km road. Bayelsa can no longer afford to entertain leaders, who hide under inferior projects to fritter away our scarce commonwealth.

“Transparency and accountability in governance is the foundation of trust in leadership. It can never be swept under the carpet”.

Diri had at the inauguration of the road project recently put the cost of the 10.2 km road put the cost at N30 bn, a free criticism from Eradiri who argued that previous administrations had done part of the job.