By Samuel Oyadongha
The group, Bayelsa State Founding Fathers, has called for more development in the predominantly riverine state even as Governor Timipre Sylva has assured that the state would convene a stakeholders’ conference to enable it chart a new course.

Chairman of the body, Dr. Amba Ambaiowei, who made the appeal during the Bayelsa Day celebration in Yenagoa, noted that fourteen years after its creation, the vision of the founding fathers was yet to be actualised as people in the rural areas of the state “are crying of abject poverty, neglect and deprivation.”

According to him, the vision of the founding fathers was the development of the people and the environment “which can only be effectively achieved by a state status where there is some degree of autonomy for self development.”

The group listed some of the needs of the people as “water, electricity, quality health services, good roads and safe and affordable water transportation.”

The elders pleaded with the state government to complete the three senatorial district roads to ease communication, the construction of gas turbines in each of the old local government areas in the riverine areas of the state as well as provision of quality and competitive education, safe and affordable water transportation, fish and agro-based industries should be built in view of the abundance of fine sand in the river banks.

However, Governor Sylva assured that a conference of every group in the state will be convened to chart a new course in line with the yearnings of the people.