The Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, says the state has been “cheated over the years” in placements at the federal level.
He urged the Federal Character Commission (FCC) to investigate and correct the imbalance for the sake of fairness.
According to a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Daniel Alabrah, Gov. Diri stated this on Wednesday in Yenagoa when he hosted the Executive Chairman of FCC, Mrs Muheeba Dankaka.
The governor said that he first noticed the imbalances in federal placements when he was a member of the House of Representatives.
Diri challenged Dankaka’s FCC to correct the existing imbalance and ensure that Bayelsa got its due.
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The governor alleged that available vacancies at the federal level were hardly brought to the knowledge of the government and people of the state, and urged the commission to start doing that.
“It is only when we know of the vacancies that we can take advantage of the opportunities.
“If the imbalances affecting Bayelsa and a few other states are addressed, the agitations in some states will reduce significantly,” Gov. Diri stated.
He describedFCC as crucial to the unity and stability of Nigeria given the numerous ethnic groups clamouring for justice.
“The Federal Character Commission is inevitable in a heterogeneous society like ours. The commission can sort out a lot of the inequality and challenges we face because of our heterogeneous nature.
“It is a very good weapon in solving the issues of ethnicity and mutual suspicion among ethnic nationalities that make up Nigeria.
“I like to place on record that Bayelsa state is under-represented. Bayelsa is one of the states that has been cheated over the years and the inequality in relation to other states is so high that we request that your commission addresses this imbalance,” the governor told the FCC boss.