Bayelsa State Government has called for better collaboration with the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited, SPDC, to enable more investments in the state and give value to people of Bayelsa.
The state’s Deputy Governor, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, made the call during a business meeting with the management of SPDC in Port Harcourt, recently.
“The relationship between Bayelsa State and SPDC is cordial. Thank you for the investments in our state. Thank you for your contributions to support development efforts in the state. But how do we improve on this and bring dividends to our people? There is still so much more to unearth in our state,” the deputy governor said.
He said, “This meeting is to see how we can work together to create a suitable environment for SPDC to operate and generate value for all of us. We wish to collaborate and expand your portfolio in Bayelsa State and to see how we can partner to reduce youth restiveness and tackle the increased use of drugs by the youths in the state.”
He said the state had recorded huge success, using sports to engage youths in the state so as to keep them away from vices, particularly drug abuse and violent crimes. He noted that the youth had shown that they could deliver good value with little encouragement.
“For two years now, we have been experimenting with programmes to engage the youth towards positive actions, to reduce restiveness. The state government believes that sports are an avenue to dilute criminality and the prevalent use of drugs. Our efforts have started budding and fruits are coming in. Bayelsa came third at the National Sports Festival in Edo State. We have the annual Bayelsa Wrestling Classic. The youth have shown that if we give them encouragement, they can deliver good value if we give them encouragement,” he said.
