Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Friday was full of praises for Governor Henry Seriake Dickson for transforming Bayelsa State.
Obasanjo who was received at the Bayelsa State helipad on Friday morning on a one-day working visit stated this at the Traditional Rulers Council, Yenagoa, where he was conferred with citizenship of the state and a chieftaincy title.
The former president, who said the level of transformation Bayelsa State has witnessed in the last six years shocked him, reiterated that the younger generation should be accommodated in the nation’s political leadership.
Obasanjo expressed happiness with the relative peace and stability Dickson has enthroned in the state, noting that he would want to identify with a success story of Bayelsa under Dickson.
“We came in here in 1998/1999 and I have seen the rapid transformation. I commend all the people who have joined hands in building this state. When I see the transformation that is going on between 1998 and now, I doff my hat for this man called, Dickson. You call me a Bayelsan and I am proud to be one. Any good place like Bayelsa is a place to be. Here, we are seeing real transformation. Any place where we are seeing transformation is a place to be. I thank the governor for inviting me. Anybody who was here 20 years ago and sees the development that has taken place will appreciate the money spent. Thank you Governor Henry Seriake Dickson. You are making it easy for investors to come to relax and do business. If you hear that I am coming here often, don’t be surprised.”
One of the things that struck me is the relative peace Dickson has brought in Bayelsa. I don’t know how you did it. Maybe we have to come to you for tutelage”