The Publisher of the Niger Delta Herald Newspapers, Mr Francis Dufugha, has asked the Bayelsa State Government to publish a detailed account of its revenues and development outcomes as the state marks 30 years of its creation.
Dufugha, who is a stakeholder in the state’s political and development space, made the call in a press statement issued on August 31, 2026, in Yenagoa.
He said the time has come for an honest conversation on Bayelsa’s development trajectory under Governor Douye Diri, who assumed office on February 14, 2020.
According to him, the question to ask is what measurable improvement the enormous resources accruing to the state have produced in the lives of ordinary citizens.
He referred to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) 2022 Multidimensional Poverty Index, which put Bayelsa’s multidimensional poverty rate at 88.5 per cent, one of the highest in the country. The index measures deprivation beyond income, including health, education, living standards and work. Child multidimensional poverty in the state was put at over 95 per cent.
Dufugha said the figure is troubling when viewed against the state’s revenue inflows.
He said available fiscal data indicate that Bayelsa received approximately N2.3 trillion in gross FAAC allocations between 2020 and 2025, while other federal transfers and revenues have provided additional resources.
He acknowledged the Diri administration’s completion of a housing estate inherited from the previous administration and its construction of residential quarters for legislators and commissioners at the New Yenagoa City/New GRA.
He, however, said there is need to examine whether scarce public resources should continue to prioritise housing for political and senior government officials who already enjoy official privileges, at a time the state is facing severe poverty and housing affordability challenges.
Describing it as a question of priorities, Dufugha said a people-oriented housing policy should give greater attention to low-income families, young workers, teachers, health workers, civil servants, first-time homeowners and vulnerable households struggling with high rents, land costs and the cost of building.
He suggested that government could expand affordable housing schemes, serviced plots, rent-to-own programmes, low-interest housing finance and public-private partnerships that would give ordinary Bayelsans a realistic pathway to home ownership.
The publisher challenged the Diri administration to publish a six-year financial and development scorecard showing revenues received and outcomes in poverty reduction, employment and youth development, education, healthcare, housing, infrastructure, agriculture and economic development, and household living standards.
He said the request was made in the spirit of the Freedom of Information Act, 2011, and pursuant to Section 39(1) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, which guarantees freedom of expression and the right to receive and impart information.
Dufugha said asking questions about public resources and development is not an act of hostility but part of democratic accountability.
He said as Bayelsa marks 30 years, citizens should be bold enough to ask whether development priorities are truly centred on the people.
He added that if the state has recorded substantial improvement since the NBS assessment, the government should publish the latest credible data.
“Bayelsans deserve facts, figures and measurable results, not propaganda or social-media hype. Let us plan for the people, build for the people and house the people,” he said.
He stressed that his intervention was made in good faith as a Bayelsan and publisher, and not out of opposition to the governor or his administration.
