The Governor of Bayelsa State, Douye Diri, has said that former military dictator and infamous ruler, Sani Abacha, remains a hero to the people of the state after he created the oil-rich state 25 years ago on October 1, 1996.
The governor stated this during a thanksgiving service on Nigeria’s 61st independence and Bayelsa 25th anniversary at the King of Glory Chapel in Government House, Yenagoa.
Bayelsa shares boundaries with Rivers and Delta states to the East and West respectively and having Atlantic Ocean to the southern borders.
Its people, basically Ijaw with the minority of Igbo-speaking, were formerly part of the Rivers until the military dictator carved it out in 1996.
Eulogising Abacha, Governor Douye 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.”
