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The Bayelsa State Government has denied reports claiming it blamed the Nigerian Government for the poverty rate in the state, describing the publication as false and misleading.
In a statement issued by the Commissioner for Information, Orientation and Strategy, Ebiuwou Koku-Obiyai, the government said it did not release any statement on Monday responding to criticism by a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party over Governor Douye Diri’s six years in office.
The government specifically rejected reports published under the headline, “Bayelsa Govt Rejects PDP’s Poverty Claims, Defends Six-Year Record,” insisting that the commissioner neither authored nor circulated the statement attributed to her.
It also dismissed a subsequent report alleging that the state government had shifted responsibility for poverty in Bayelsa to the administration of President Bola Tinubu, maintaining that no such position was taken.
According to the statement, the commissioner neither issued nor signed any press release responding to the opposition’s claims, adding that the allegations were considered undeserving of an official response.
The government challenged media organisations that published the reports to produce the purported statement, insisting that no such document exists.
It added that Bayelsa residents were familiar with the performance of the Diri administration and could distinguish between factual information and what it described as deliberate misinformation.
The state government further argued that the claim that it blamed the Nigerian Government for poverty was an attempt by a faction of the PDP to promote a false narrative.
It maintained that Diri enjoys a cordial working relationship with President Tinubu and the Nigerian Government, noting that the collaboration has continued to deliver benefits to the people of Bayelsa.
The government also accused the PDP faction of seeking political relevance through falsehood, stressing that it would not be distracted by what it described as baseless allegations.
