Diri urges politicians to respect electoral rules 

For sustenance of the country’s democracy, Bayelsa state governor, Senator Douye Diri, has advised politicians who violate electoral rules whenever the outcome did not favour them to turn a new leaf. 

The governor advised such politicians to be mature enough to accept electoral defeat for civil governance to be respected and sustained.

Diri also described members of the armed forces as very special group of people dedicated to a difficult type of service.

Governor Diri stated this at the thanksgiving service to mark the 2025 Armed Forces Remembrance Day held at the King of Glory Chapel, Government House, Yenagoa.

He emphasised that soldiers were special to the country and the state because they continued to pay the supreme price for other citizens to live.

He admonished Bayelsa indigenes to always honour and celebrate the sacrifices of the armed forces and the ex-service men.

His words: “Today, we are gathered to appreciate God for the lives of some very special group of people, a people that dedicated their lives even to death. They are very special to us as a country and as a state. So we need to honour and celebrate them. 

“While we are thanking God for the families of the departed soldiers, we  are also celebrating those that are living.”

Following recent skirmishes between rival cult groups at Igbogene, a community on the outskirts of the state capital, the Bayelsa helmsman directed that security be beefed up, particularly around the newly opened Bayelsa Transport Terminal.

He warned youth groups trying to extort passengers and commercial transporters at the terminal to steer clear of the facility.

In a sermon titled: “The Power of Unity,” Chaplain of the King of Glory Chapel, Pastor David Yalah, ‎said there was a price to pay for unity. 

According to the chaplain, if there was no one to pay a price, everyone else suffers, and that any delay in having unity makes the price greater.