Bayelsa State governor, Senator Douye Diri, Monday said late former Head of State, General Sani Abacha, remained a hero to the people of the state and the Ijaw nation.
The state was created on October 1, 1996 during the regime of the late Nigerian leader.
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The governor said the people would forever remain grateful to Abacha for responding to calls for the creation of the state.
He spoke at a thanksgiving service to mark Nigeria’s 61st independence and Bayelsa State’s 25th anniversary in Yenagoa, the state capital.
He said: “Let me use this medium to thank one man. He may not be popular in Nigeria but to me and all of us Bayelsans, we see him as a great man, a hero. The man, who by the stroke of the pen, signed the creation of Bayelsa State. I am talking about the late General Sani Abacha.
“We acknowledge him as a state and people. By his singular assent, he created this state with just eight local government areas, which was less than the constitutional requirements.”
Speaking on Nigeria’s 61st independence anniversary, the governor called on the federal government to ensure justice and equity in the distribution of resources in the country.
He, however, expressed dissatisfaction with “lopsided” federal structure where the federal government takes resources from states and decides what is given to each state at the end of every month.
