Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has narrated how he rejected an offer by a senior citizen of Nigeria who invited him to Abuja and advised him to perform certain rituals to be governor of the state.
Diri declared that his absolute faith in God earned him the sobriquet ‘Miracle Governor.’
Speaking during the KOLGA (Kolokuma/Opokuma Local Government Area) Annual Day of Thanksgiving held in Sampou, his community, Diri revealed how he turned down the ritual offering in 2020.
The governor, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Daniel Alabrah, had challenged the declaration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the November 2019 governorship poll as the winner of the governorship poll, adding that the matter was then pending at the Supreme Court when the senior citizen flew in some marabouts from Senegal to perform the rituals.
He stated that when he bluntly rejected the offer, the man demanded a refund of the money spent to transport them into the country, adding that he paid $10,000.
He explained that his unshaken faith in God made him decline the advice to look elsewhere for help, saying God, against all the odds, proved that He is always faithful.
He emphasised the need for politicians to learn from his experience and put their trust in God rather than in man.
Diri averred that the KOLGA people had reasons to be thankful to God, given the level of development they had witnessed, and thanked the council for giving the Thanksgiving Day legal backing through legislation.
The governor also expressed gratitude to Apostle David Zilly Aggrey, the convener, and those who have sustained the programme.
Diri said: “I thank God and also thank Apostle David Zilly Aggrey because he started this event. And because his prayers were heard, God made it possible to bring me in and today, it is by law that all Kolokuma/Opokuma people can gather to praise God.
“Let me reveal to you why it is important to thank God and have faith in Him. Some time ago, a senior citizen of this country invited me to Abuja and asked me to perform certain sacrifices but I declined. I told him my faith in God would not allow me to do it. He got angry and told me I would never become governor.
“He told me that he had spent $10,000 to bring the people for the sacrifice and asked for a refund, which I obliged.
“When the Supreme Court’s pronouncement came, the man was shocked and could not call me. Sadly, he passed on after some time.
“The story I have narrated was witnessed by my deputy and a friend in Abuja as both of them accompanied me to visit the senior citizen,” he added.