Diri not below strain to type second-term cabinet- Spokesman 

The Governor of Bayelsa State, Douye Diri, is not under pressure from any quarters over when he will form his second-term cabinet and the persons to be appointed.

The governor’s spokesperson, Daniel Alabrah, who stated this in a telephone chat with our correspondent, on Monday, also said that the governor would announce his cabinet whenever he was ready.

Alabrah’s explanation came on the heels of concerns among residents of the state that the governor has yet to constitute the state executive council about one month after he and the deputy governor, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, were inaugurated for their second tenure on February 14, 2024, following their reelection on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party at the November 11, 2023 governorship poll.

The governor had announced the dissolution of the former state executive council one week after his second-term inauguration following the expiration of his first term at a valedictory session held inside the Executive Chamber of the Government House, Yenagoa.

In his first term in office, the governor formed his cabinet in August 2020 about six months after he was sworn in.

Alabrah said no pressure was being piled on the governor to appoint his second-tenure cabinet and that he would forward the list of nominees to the House of Assembly for screening and confirmation when it was ready.

According to him, the governor knows the kinds of people he wants to be in his cabinet to help him drive his vision and had indicated that members of other political parties might be in the new state executive council.

In addition, he said the governor would consult relevant stakeholders where necessary as the task of building a new unified and prosperous Bayelsa was not his responsibility alone.

The governor’s spokesperson said, “Nobody can tell you definitely when he will announce his (second-term) cabinet. Nobody knows. When he is ready, he will send the list (of nominees) to the House of Assembly. It is just three weeks after the cabinet was dissolved, so what is the big deal about new cabinet? When he is ready with his new cabinet, he will announce it.

“After all, he has done one term and he knows the kinds of people he wants in his second term. He will form his cabinet when he is ready. It could be anytime, and the truth of the matter is that he is the one who knows the kinds of persons he wants, whether in the PDP, APC or any party. He has said that he wants to have an inclusive cabinet.”

While dismissing speculation that the governor was being pressured to form his cabinet with certain people, he said, “No pressure. Who will give him pressure? Although people can say that they are lobbying for one position or another, I’m not privy to any quarters or anybody that will be in the list. But the governor is not under any pressure.

“He knows the people that will help him drive his vision, he wants to pick those kinds of persons- if they are politicians, technocrats, professionals- whatever calibre of persons he wants, he knows. For him to say that he wants to have an inclusive cabinet, he is also looking at the larger picture of how to unify the state.

“Look at what he said on Saturday (March 9, 2024). He said there is no political boundaries in the new Bayelsa. He is trying to say that, that politics that has divided our people before; that let us not continue to look at politics from that prism anymore. It’s a new paradigm shift. And anywhere he has to consult, he will consult. He cannot do these things on his own, he will do it in consultation with other stakeholders. But if it is a question of pressure, no, nobody can pressure him.”