Diri defends Bayelsa IPP, dismisses failed project claims

Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, has said the state’s independent power project is on course, dismissing insinuations that it had failed.

A 60MW gas-fired turbine plant installed by the Diri administration to provide 24-hour electricity in the state was among the projects commissioned on April 10, 2026, by President Bola Tinubu.

The governor, however, explained that the plant was undergoing finishing touches requiring the installation of critical devices to safeguard the project and the state’s investment in the power sector.

A statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Daniel Alabrah, said the governor gave the explanation on Thursday during the weekly Prosperity Walk at the Samson Siasia Sports Complex in Yenagoa, and appealed to residents of the state to be patient.

While assuring that the process would soon be completed, Senator Diri frowned at those he accused of politicising the power project.

He said, “We know that the people of Bayelsa will never forget the gas turbine project. But some of our people are talking about time and darkness. There is nothing like darkness. Those who want to play politics can do so, but we will do what we know is right for our state and our people.

“As a government, we want our people to be free from darkness. So, what you are seeing are the final finishing touches after the commissioning. Certain protective devices must be installed on the turbines so that when they begin operation, they will not be affected.

“Once the protective devices are fully installed, the turbines will come on, to the shame of those who want darkness and did not want the turbines at all.

From the beginning, they said we would fail. Now we have surprised them, and they are not happy.”

Diri also criticised those he described as political fathers who do not allow their political “sons” to grow.

He said only bad fathers behave that way and urged political leaders to exercise restraint in their actions and comments, as these send the wrong signals to their followers.

According to the Bayelsa helmsman, political fathers should pray for their successors to do better than them, as that is the wish of a good father for his children.

“A good father prays for his child to succeed more than him. So every political father should pray for his successors to do better than him. A father who prays for his son not to do better than him is a bad father.”

He also disclosed that former Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo would visit the state on Monday, April 20, 2026, to inaugurate the Oxbow Lake–Agbura Road.

He said the former VP, who performed the groundbreaking ceremony of the Angiama–Oporoma Bridge, would also visit the project after its commissioning by President Tinubu.