Alaibe advocates blue economy for Bayelsa
Timi Alaibe, a former managing director of Niger Delta Development Commission ( NDDC), said he would give more attention to blue economy in order to improve the internally generated revenue profile of Bayelsa State if elected governor.
Alaibe stated this on Wednesday in Yenagoa while addressing members of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Bayelsa State Council as part of his ongoing consultations with stakeholder groups in the state as he seeks the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) governorship ticket.
He promised to harness all the marine resources within the state to create wealth just like the Philippines with the same marine environment as Bayelsa used it to create a sustainable economy for the
country.
Alaibe pointed out that though Bayelsa State that has crude oil and gas resources lacks tank farms and no oil vessels are moored in the coast due to the absence of seaports and promise to develop the proposed Agge and Brass seaports.
He assured that he would not use the blue economy as excuse to mess up the ecosystem saying that he would do it in a sustainable way and also open up the three senatorial districts to the Atlantic Ocean.
Alaibe said he would use private sector capital to develop the blue economy, create wealth and advocated a 25-year development plan for the state after implementing his government’s short term plans and also, use private sector capital to address critical infrastructure including flooding, erosion, tourism and skills acquisition.
On the insure of security, he assured that his administration would end insecurity in the state within the first six months of his government and that the violence is not caused by outsiders, but unidentified youth within the environment.
He also promised to address the issue of youth unemployment, tackle drug addiction by demobilising, rehabilitating and reintegrating addicts into the society.
Alaibe told journalists that he has both private sector and public sector experience and that he would no longer crisis- cross political platforms as in the past assuring that as he has picked the PDP expression of interest and nomination forms, he would also submit them.
On his scorecard at NDDC, he said he took the Bayelsa West Senatorial Road to Toru- Orua from where incumbent, Governor Seriake Dickson took it to Aleibiri and Ekeremor saying he would then take it to Agge.