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, on Friday, December 9, 2016 while interacting with journalists, 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.”
