Rain storm: Diri to fix destroyed state-owned radio station

The Governor of Bayelsa state, Senator Douye Diri, has described the falling of the mast belonging to the state owned Glory FM as a colossal disaster that will force the state to construct a new radio station.

The governor stated this on Tuesday when he paid an on-the-spot visit to the radio station to assess the level of damage following a heavy storm that occurred about 8:30 pm on Monday which pulled down the mast of the 97.1 FM station located at Ekeki in Yenagoa, the state capital.

Though no life was lost to the natural disaster, its impact can be visibly felt as the mast fell across the buildings of the station, totally destroying the office of the general manager of the station and other offices.

Speaking to newsmen after being conducted round the station by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information, Mr. Freston Akpor and General Manager of the station, the governor said the incidence occurred when the people of the state needed information on how to contain the dreaded coronavirus pandemic.

While thanking God for sparing the lives of the staff of the station, Diri noted that the state government would come up with the most sustaining plan to get the station back on her feet after getting a detailed brief from the ministry of information.

His words: “l am really shocked over what has happened. We still have Covid-19 in our hands to grapple with. It’s a natural disaster and there is nothing any of us can do.

“We came here the other time when there was a case of fire outbreak. Today, we are here with a storm bringing down the whole mast that is housing not only radio Bayelsa but that of Radio Nigeria and the NTA Yenagoa. It’s a very great loss.

“In fact, from the reports l am receiving from both the permanent secretary of the ministry of information and the GM, it is like we are going to build a new radio station and you know how expensive that can be in this era of Covid-19 and the falling rate of our currency.

“It’s indeed very disastrous but we thank God that in the mid of this, we did not loss a soul. God is indeed good to us. Yes, we have lost the mast, we have lost the buildings, we have lost everything but we thank God that we didn’t loss a soul.

“The God that had given us the wherewithal to build this will give us the wherewithal to erect a new station.”

On the possible resumption of the station, Diri said “we will work out the details with the ministry and the GM on what we should do in a short term to allow information to go round and for workers to work.

“We will make a comparative analysis on the short term which you are talking about and the long term of building a new station after talking with the experts and after doing the comparative analysis. We will come up with something on whether to do the short term or to build a new station.”

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