Leadership (Abuja)
Golu Timothy
8 November 2009
Abuja — The Vice President, Dr.Goodluck Jonathan, has described the completion and commissioning of the Dr. Goodluck Jonathan Bridge in Swali, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, as an addition to the gains of the amnesty period and a testament to the spate of infrastructural development that is bound to follow the achievement of peace in the Niger Delta region.
This was contained in a statement yesterday by the Senior Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Vice President, Mitaire Ikpen, which said the vice president said this while commissioning the bridge in the presence of the 36 state governors, who converged in Yenagoa for the Governors' Forum being hosted by Bayelsa, as well as other eminent personalities from the state. The 360-metre bridge, formerly known as the Ekoli Bridge, was started by the Goodluck Jonathan administration in 2006 and is strategic as the beginning point of the Central Senatorial Road that will link all three senatorial districts in Bayelsa state. According to Dr. Jonathan, "Today is a happy and fulfilling day for me. I am happy to be a part of this ceremony with all the 36 state governors present here in Yenagoa for the first time in history. When I assumed office as governor, we resolved that Bayelsa State needs more bridges than any other state, being more riverine than Rivers State and more deltaic than Delta State, and we started this bridge project. I am very happy that the governor has completed it. "It is a project very dear to all Bayelsans.
It would have been completed long ago, but the crisis in the Niger Delta made Julius Berger pull out of the project; otherwise, Mr. President would have commissioned the bridge when he visited the state. Therefore, the completion of this project is an addition to the gains of amnesty. This bridge will lead us to the shore of the Atlantic and also open up large-scale economic activities for all of us. We are commissioning this bridge not for Bayelsans alone, but for all Nigerians," Jonathan stated. Gov. Sylva, in his remarks, extolled the Vice President for commencing the bridge project during his tenure as governor. He described the bridge as strategic and important, being one of the highest in the country so as to allow for marine traffic underneath it. "The bridge from now is to be known as the Dr. Goodluck Jonathan Bridge", he said.
Dr. Jonathan has also challenged the youths of the nation to embrace the study of science and engineering courses towards evolving the required calibre of manpower needed to operate the nation's oil industry. He stated this Saturday night as Special Guest of Honour at a state dinner in honour of the 36 state governors under the aegis of the Governors' Forum, which held at the Yenagoa Peace Park in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, with Governor Timipre Sylva of Bayelsa State as host. "Let me use this opportunity to encourage our youths to embrace the study of science and engineering courses at the University level to ensure that in the future, Nigeria should be able to mine its oil. They must take up the challenge of becoming the engineers that will mine our oil, instead of the country importing personnel from overseas. "Oil was discovered in commercial quantity in China two years after it was discovered in Nigeria. Yet by the year 2000, the Chinese have taken over the manpower of their oil industry. This is a major challenge to our youths. They must work hard to acquire the technical knowledge and expertise required to operate our oil industry.
The VP also restated the commitment of President Yar'Adua to Niger Delta development and stability. "I can assure you that Mr. President is totally committed to the peace and stability of the Niger Delta and today things are looking up." The VP noted that the meeting of the Governors' Forum in Yenagoa for the first time outside Abuja, is historic and indicative of the fact that the Niger Delta is now peaceful, and that the governors are in full support of the amnesty programme of the Federal Government. "Mr. President asked me to personally convey his appreciation to all the Governors of the 36 states for being very supportive of the central Government. The stability of democracy lies more with the Governors, because the states are key players and if all the states are stable, then the centre is stable. The states have to be stable for the country to be stable" he said.
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